The Swan and the Nightingale
by RebelByrdie
Summary: This is a Post Queen of Hearts SwanQueen AU. Old friends from The Enchanted Forest stow away on Hook's ship and bring a new dynamic to the sleepy town of Storybrooke. Someone from Regina's past will change everything and shadowy enemies will make their power known. Will Emma, overwhelmed by her new life, be able to sort everything out in time? SwanQueen. RedBeauty. SleepingWarrior.
1. Prologue

**Title:** The Swan and the Nightingale

**Author: **RebelByrdie

**Rating:** M

**Fandom: **Once Upon A Time

**Pairing:** Regina/Emma

**Disclaimer:** Storybrooke, its population and its drama belong to its creators. This is a work of not-for-profit fiction.

**Summary: **This is a Post _Queen of Hearts_ SwanQueen AU based on one single premise: What if there was one, just one, person that has always loved Regina and they arrive in Storybrooke with a few old friends from the Enchanted Forest. SwanQueen, SleepingWarrior, RedBeauty.

**Author's Note:** I have been out of the fan fiction writing game for a very long time, but the insane chemistry between Lana Parilla and Jennifer Morrison on _Once Upon a Time _and the amazing #swanqueen tag on tumblr has dragged me back this isn't too awful. I have no beta-reader so all mistakes and the absolute destruction of the English language is entirely on me. _Italics indicate a scene took place in the past._

_Prologue_

_Tiny bare feet beat a rapid and familiar path on the cold flagstone floor and through the always open door. A moment later the nightdress clad four year old launched herself at the still half-asleep woman in the bed. _

"_Nan! Nan! Nan!" The girl tugged on the woman's uncovered arm. "Up! Time to be up!" The woman didn't respond and the girl's small face fell into a pout, "Na-an!"_

_Then, as quick as a snake, the woman twisted to the side and wrapped her arms around the girl in a tight bear hug, "Good morning, My Nightingale."_

"_I had a dweam again."_

_Green eyes flashed and the woman pulled the girl closer with slender arms that were several shades too dark to have given birth to the precious baby they were around, "A bad one?"_

_She felt the little girl shake her head, and breathed a small sigh of relief. There were so many nightmares that a good dream was a great gift._

_She pushed the bedcovers off of her and twisted around to get out of bed. She stood and smoothed her own night dress out before reaching down to pick her girl up. The nanny settled the four year old on her hip and they walked back into the nursery together. "Tell me about you dream."_

"_A pwincess."_

"_Princess." She corrected the girl absent-mindedly while she selected the girl's dress for the day. She knew that the child would eventually master her r's, but her mother expected the girl to speak properly now._

"_Was that princess you?"_

_The girl had the nightdress half-way off and tangled in her arms above her head. "No."_

_The Nanny pulled the large shirt the rest of the way off the girl, "So another princess, then?"_

"_She was encha-enchan-magiced. She's a swan during the day and a princess at night."_

_The nanny helped the girl into her petticoat, and tried not to chuckle at the baby's struggle with the long word. "A swan and a princess. It sounds like a very strange curse."_

"_She's sad and so is her queen."_

"_You mean her king?" Sometimes the girl got titles confused, it was something they were working on._

"_No. It was a lady, a sad queen. Everyone thinks she's bad, like mamma, but she's nice like you." _

_Her heart melted a little bit at the girl's innocent words. She could not explain to anyone how much she loved her Little Nightingale._

_The little girl held her chubby little arms up for her dress, "She looks mean and people are scared of her. I think she's cursed and needs the princess to save her."_

"_I see." She really did not see, but felt that this was important. This dream seemed far more vivid than normal. She helped the girl into her light blue frock._

"_How does the Swan Princess save the Queen if she is also cursed?"_

_The little girl shrugged, "They have to save each other, but they don't know how."_

_The Nanny tied the sash behind the girl's back. "There is only one way to break such dark curses, my Little One."_

_The girl turned to her, dark eyes full of hope, "What is it?"_

_The nanny smoothed dark hair, "True love's kiss, Regina. No magic is more powerful than love."_

_Their conversation was interrupted by three staccato knocks on the door. Marie, the maid, brought in a tray, "Breakfast, your highness."_

_Regina, always easy to distract, brightened, "HI MARIE! Did you bring pancakes?"_

_The Nanny walked back into her own small chamber to dress for the day and tried to shake off the foreboding she felt. Regina was pacified by pancakes for now, but the story would come back. She knew it in her bones, this was not only a dream. _

_When Prince Henry came to see his daughter, as he did every day, Regina told him the tale as well. The Prince doted on his child and praised her imagination. "You should paint a picture of it, Regina. Maybe one day we can make it into your very own story book."_

_The paintings, colorful but crude, were drying by the fire an hour later._

_She looked over Regina's work and could pick out a wobbly white shape on a wide blue oval that could be a swan on a lake. The next page was a black castle with a dark triangle with dark lines that represented hair. The dark triangle had to be the queen. The third page was of the lake again but instead of a smiling sun there was a crescent moon and dots of stars in a dark sky. There was a blobby red triangle with yellow hair-the cursed princess. The fourth page had both triangles on it and a yellow blob that Regina called a horse. She smiled at the pages, they were beautiful, just like Regina. _

_At precisely three candle marks before dinner the nursery door flew open. Regina, playing with her dolls by the fire, jerked and immediately stood. Though she smiled at the woman who strode through the door, her dark eyes were wide with fear. "Hello Mother."_

_Princess Cora looked at her small daughter imperiously, "Put down the doll, Regina." She turned on her heel. "It's time to put your childish things aside and come with me for your lessons."_

_Regina put her beloved doll on the nearby chair and immediately hurried to her mother's side. "Yes Mother."_

_Cora paused to glare at the Nanny. "Gypsy."_

_Esmeralda sank into a very shallow curtsy, "Your Highness."_

_She watched mother and daughter walk out and winced when Cora put her hand on the back of Regina's slender neck and sank her nails into the tender skin there. "Stand up straight, Regina. Queens do not slouch." Whatever else she said was lost as the pair turned the corner of the corridor._

_Esmeralda was left in the empty nursery with a sour stomach and bitter anger burning in her stomach. She wished, not for the first time, that she was Regina's mother and not just her nursemaid. Her eyes fell to the paintings and she collected them with shaky hands. She did not know why, but she knew without a doubt that Cora could never see these drawings or know about Regina's dream. The wicked woman would find some way to twist the tale to her own means. She would use the story, the one that Regina was so sure was true, to hurt the little girl and she would not let that happen. This unknown princess, this Swan, would save her Nightingale one day._


	2. Chapter I: Welcome to Storybrooke

Author's Note: See Prologue for disclaimer, warnings, rating, etc. This chapter takes place during the last half of _Queen of Hearts. _The gypsy character is not based on the real traditions or stories of the real Romani culture, it is a mish-mash of fantasy that I have weaved together in my head. While this is mainly a SwanQueen story, there are some scenes of other pairings, as mentioned in the summary. Enjoy and don't forget to vote SwanQueen!

Part I: The Return

Chapter I

Welcome to Storybrooke

Regina Mills half walked, half limped down the tidy streets of Storybrooke. Nobody spoke to her, they barely even looked at her. She was a pariah, The Evil Queen. She was the one that had cursed everyone and stolen their memories and their happy endings. Let them stare, she thought bitterly. Let them come, let them attack, she would suffer their pathetic peasant slings and arrows. They could say whatever they wanted, because it was all true, even if it was irrelevant to her. She was the Evil Queen, what would she care if some farmer jumped in her face to make accusations. Even if someone had been brave enough to try, though, she wouldn't have noticed. The world was out of focus and lazily tilted to the side. Flashes of noxious green continually flooded then receded from her vision, like waves on a beach. The magic she'd absorbed, cast with killer intent and powered by pilfered fairy dust, was slowly but surely killing her. She had endured pain over the years, plenty of it. Physical and magically delivered blows had rained down on her since she had been a child. All of that, yet nothing compared to the agony she was in now.

Every step she took was a new torture. Her empty stomach pitched violently and she gagged on the taste blood and bile on her tongue. Every time the green flashed in her vision the pain intensified, and she wasn't sure how much further she could go. Her home, a few blocks away, seemed just as unreachable as the moon. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming. She would not give the people what they wanted to see. She would not break down, not here and not now. She would make it home and there, surrounded by the life she had thought was her happy ending, she would die.

Her skin was on fire, every nerve was coated in acid and electrified. Everything, every single part of her body, hurt. Her fingers and palms, how she had absorbed most of the spell, throbbed and crackled with pain that paralyzed her hands. Her bones had been hollowed out, marrow replaced with white hot molten steel. Her arteries and veins were filled with lye. The worst of it, though, was her heart. Her weak, loving, heart that had betrayed her time and time again. Her heart was an Old War mace, covered in razor sharp spikes. It pierced her lungs and heart in a thousand places and dug deeper into her chest with every beat of her rapidly weakening heart. Her heartbeat was out of rhythm and painfully erratic. Her entire body shuddered uncontrollably every time it squeezed. Her chest was unbearably tight and she could barely breathe. It felt like she was tightly squeezed into an iron maiden corset. How ironic it was, Regina could barely form the thought amidst the chaos of pain, that the Evil Queen had traded her life for those of the Savior and her thrice damned mother and no one would know or even care.

She had wandered off the sidewalk and into the street. The only way she knew this was because she had twisted her ankle when she had suddenly come to the edge of the sidewalk and stepped into the gutter. Maybe a car would hit her. It would solve everyone's problems, Regina felt a twisted grin cross her face at the idea. Storybrooke would be rid of its Evil Queen and she would be out of the hideous pain she was in. She had held it in, masked her pain at first. Of course it hadn't been so severe then. She had been almost fine at the well, strong enough to welcome Ms. Swan back and accept her thanks. Then there had been the sickingly sweet scene at Gold's pawnshop. The magic's poisonous bite had made itself known there. Then again, she always got a little nauseous when Snow and her farm hand prince found each other. By the time the happy family left for Granny's Diner she was having problems focusing. She had pushed past Gold, ignoring the imp no matter how caustic his words were, and held her head up high. By the time she had walked out his door, however, she had known that something was very wrong with her.

She could see three blurry figures standing in the road ahead of her. They were foggy, indistinct and she did not recognize them. She knew every face in Storybrooke, so these were hallucinations. Her brain, feverish with pain, had conjured phantoms to continue her torture. They could do their worst, she couldn't imagine any pain worse than she was already in. The green rolled in again and she shuddered to a stop, unsure if she could make it another step

"What's wrong with her?"

One of the hallucinations on the far right swam into focus. It was a young woman in what had once been a beautiful gown. There was a crown on her head. She was yet another princess. Her face faded in and out of focus. Regina wasn't sure, but she looked like one of the many princesses she had been forced to interact with by her mother. How strange.

"Leah?"

The name rolled thickly off her tongue, slowed and slurred by the fact that the bones of her face felt like it was made of parchment stretched over broken glass.

"It does not matter. She is the Evil Queen."

Another of her hallucinations, this one dressed in armor, stepped in front of the princess and was pointing a sword at her. The woman's, Regina was sure it was a woman, face was covered by chainmail, but there was fire in her dark eyes. Maybe she was real. Maybe she would kill her. Maybe the Charming clan had hired her as an executioner. Regina wasn't sure if it was the weakness in her knees or in her heart that made her drop to the roadbed, but either way she could no longer stand. She had always promised she would meet her end on her feet, but what was one more broken promise? She tried to laugh, but it turned into a cough that burnt like a knife in her lungs. The sword above her shined in the sunlight and Regina forced herself to look up at its wielder. She might be on her knees, but she still had her pride. They would never take that from her.

"You will not hurt her."

The last figure stepped around the princess and the warrior closer to her. This one was dressed in a long purple cloak that masked her face. Green crashed into her vision again, but Regina did not need her eyes. She recognized that voice, the warm raspy words and musical accent, and immediately knew that she was either dying or hallucinating. That voice, and the woman it belonged to, was long dead and buried. She had seen this woman's heart crushed to dust only inches from her face. There was no coming back from that: no spells, no true love's kiss, only death. The green was not receding and the pain in her chest was so sharp that she doubled over, one hand on the ground and one on her chest.

Cool hands touched her flame hot face and tilted it up, "Oh my Little Nightingale, what trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

The pet name, not heard since her childhood, was the last thing Regina heard before the sparkling green in her eyes darkened to black.

* * *

_She had fought hoards of Huns in the service of an empire that shunned her. She had hunted viscous monsters who had once been men. She had seen curses cast and curses broken. She had seen monsters rise up from the grave to terrorize the living. She had watched a woman climb a beanstalk in search of a way home. She had traveled what many would consider both far and wide. She had just crossed from one realm to another via a portal. She had never, ever, experienced anything like pushing Aurora's heart back in her chest. She had not expected the rush of magic that had run up her fingers and into her own heart. She had seen Aurora's face in many lights with many expressions on it, but never like that. She had been so breathtakingly beautiful that her heart felt lighter than air. Her eyes, a richer blue then the sky or the sea, had met her own and Mulan had been lost. The way she had looked at her, Mulan could not describe it. Her emotions, usually so controlled, had run through her like a stampeding cavalry. She, momentarily, let herself want. She had not thought of Phillip or of protecting Aurora. In that moment, that instant of magic and wonder, she had wanted to lean forward and kiss the princess she had sworn an oath to protect. She had wanted Phillips's fiancé with every fiber of her being. Then it was over, as abruptly as it had begun._

_If there was a way to rescue Phillip's soul they had to peruse it. They would need the wraith's medallion, though. That item, they both knew, was not in their world. They had returned to Lake Nostos in hopes of finding something, a clue or indication of where they might go next. They had gotten a lot more than just a clue. _

"_Is that a ship?"_

_Mulan nodded, at a momentary loss for words. She had seen ships before, she had sailed across the sea more than once. This ship was very different from the ones she had traveled upon before. It was floating through the middle of the forest, for one thing. _

"_I don't understand why you couldn't just poof it straight to the lake, Love."_

_Mulan grabbed Aurora and pulled her back, placing her safely behind a large oak tree._

"_The things you don't understand, Capitan, could fill an ocean."_

_Mulan didn't bother to shush Aurora's small gasp. She was not pleased to see Cora and Hook either. Her hand fell its familiar position on the hilt of her sheathed sword._

"_So you fan levitate my ship the entire way from port to lake, but you can't just poof it. Honestly it sounds like you're doing it the hard way. It's magic, after all."_

_They stopped, they were far too close for Mulan's taste, less than two yards away, but she dared not move. The foliage was thick here, and her armor was dark enough that they might blend in just enough._

"_And what do you know about magic?" Cora's words were delivered with an angry hiss._

_Hook held up his hands-hand and hook, Mulan mentally corrected, in surrender. _

"_Not enough to fill a thimble. I was just trying to pass the journey back to the portal in a friendly manner. All my rum is in the cargo hold."_

_She didn't have to turn around to know that Aurora's eyes had widened. The portal was still open? The portal that could take them to the Land of Storybrooke and the medallion they needed?_

_She waited until Cora and Hook were further away before she turned. Aurora mouthed the word 'Portal' to her. Mulan nodded gravely, and silently replied 'hurry'. They travelled through the woods, and despite Aurora's dress getting snagged on errant stumps, tree branches and thistle bushes, they beat Hook and Cora there. Mulan's eyes widened at the site. The portal was not the same as it had been. It was a whirling vortex or water. They could not jump into that, the only thing that would appear in Storybrooke would be their drowned corpses._

"_You will need a ship to navigate that portal."_

_Aurora jumped and let out an undignified squeak. Mulan pivoted and pulled her sword from its sheaf in one smooth motion. She held it up, ready to kill and die for her princess._

"_I mean you no harm."_

_The woman, clad in a dark purple cloak, held up two empty hands. Though she could not see the woman's face, Mulan immediately recognized the style of cloak. The woman's dusky skin only confirmed her identification._

"_Gypsy."_

_The woman dropped her hands, "Warrior of the Emperor's Army."_

"_Who are you?" Aurora stepped around Mulan, her voice held a regal tone to it and Mulan almost smiled at the sound._

"_I am a traveler on a path that is very similar to yours."_

_Mulan put a protective hand on Aurora's shawl-covered shoulder, "No. Our paths are nothing alike."_

_The woman turned her head and when Mulan followed her eye line she could see the tall masts of the ship coming through the trees._

"_I am going to steal away on that ship when it sails through the portal. You may try to steal away without me, but you will be caught."_

_There was no question in the woman's voice._

"_How do you know they won't catch you?" _

_Mulan was impressed with Aurora, she was holding her own._

"_A Romani is only seen when they want to be seen. This is known."_

_Mulan had heard stories about gypsy magic, but trusted neither the gypsies nor magic._

"_Mulan." She turned to Aurora. The woman's large blue eyes were full of unshed tears, "We must get through to the other world, for Phillip."_

_Damn her eyes. Damn her soft voice. Damn her beautiful princess face. Damn, Mulan thought caustically, her own traitorous heart._

_She pointed her sword at the Gypsy's heart, "Your word that you can get us on that ship unseen?"_

_The woman nodded._

"_And you will not hurt the Princess?"_

_The woman paused, "I will hurt neither of you, Warrior, my word."_

_The ship was breaking through the trees and Cora and Hook would be there any minute. She knew only a few things about the Romani Gypsies, but one of them was that their word was unbreakable-magically unbreakable._

"_We will go with you."_

The journey from The Enchanted Forest to the Kingdom of Storybrooke had been stomach-churning and unsettling. The Gypsy had sneaked them onto the ship by making them invisible. She had waved her hand right in front of Hook's stubble-ridden face and he had seen nothing. His eyes hadn't tracked the movement and his pupils had not reacted to any change in the light hitting his eyes. They had been truly invisible. She had momentarily considered slaying both pirate and witch where they stood, but had not. Finding Phillip for Aurora was her journey and she would not stray from it. They had hidden themselves in a dark, cramped corner of the cargo hold and had to brace themselves. It had been like riding out a typhoon, wild and dangerous. Mulan had pressed Aurora into a corner and braced herself in front of the princess with all her might, unwilling to let the woman tumble around or be hit by the many lose boxes and ropes that were flying around the hold.

She had repeatedly reminded herself, as her arms and legs burned from the strain of fighting to stay upright and steady, why she was doing what she was doing. The answers they needed, namely how to rescue Phillip's soul, rested with the Wraith's amulet and it was here in this Kingdom of Storybrooke. She was sworn to protect Aurora and for Aurora to be happy, she needed Phillip. She had started this journey with Phillip, to find Aurora, and had come full circle. It was her duty, her quest, her one purpose-to see Aurora and Phillip reunited, no matter how much that idea made her heart hurt. There were dangers ahead. Finding Phillip's soul would not be easy. Living beings did not belong in the realm of souls. The Dark One was also here, as was Cora and the Evil Queen. Mulan would not feel safe until she found their old allies. They had not made the easiest of traveling companions, but they were honorable. She had found that though she was as unskilled warrior as she'd ever seen, Emma Swan had a sense of honor that was very close to her own. She liked the blonde woman's spirit. She would be pleased to fight by her side again, though hopefully not ogres. She even trusted Snow White, the queen separated from her love.

She did not, however, trust the gypsy. Helpful or not, Mulan could not bring herself to trust the robed woman. Her mistrust was obviously well founded as the woman knelt down beside the Evil Queen and spoke to her in the same way one would speak to a child. She was soft and gentle with the dark woman. She shifted her grip on her sword and put herself between Aurora and the other two women. The gypsy woman made no move towards Aurora, though. All of her attention was on the fallen queen. Mulan's raven brow rose when the woman bent down and picked the Queen up and cradled her like a child. The gypsy was strong, far stronger than her willowy form appeared to be.

"This is where our paths separate."

The woman turned on her bare heel and began to walk away from them, the queen's deadweight in her arms. The belt of gold coins that peeked out from beneath the cloak tinkled merrily as she moved away from them.

Aurora, too kind and curious for her own good, reached out to the other woman, "But how will you know where she lives? We don't even know where we are!"

The woman, she had never told them her name, smiled in the shadow of her cloak. "I will know." She started walking again, and left them alone. She had not said many words to them, and offered nothing more for goodbye. It was as quick and undramatic as their initial meeting, only in reverse. Mulan, for herself, felt much better without the woman. She knew, in the same way she knew the sun would rise in the morning and set in the evening that they would see the gypsy again.

For the moment, though, it was just her and Aurora again. That was how she preferred it. Their problem, however, still remained. How were they going to find Emma Swan and Snow White in this foreign land? She had never been anywhere like this Storybrooke. Emma and Snow had told them that it was different, but Mulan had a feeling that different was an understatement. She looked around at the landscape. There were buildings made of oddly-tinted wood, smooth stone and shining glass. The air smelled different, and she could taste both the nearby sea and the forest on the wind. It was loud, there were people talking and roars of far off beasts that she couldn't identify. Tall metal trees were planted in stone and everything was utterly different then anything she'd ever seen before. There were giant, hulking creatures of metal and glass all around and the few people, oddly clothed and armed with strange boxes small enough to fit in their palms, on the streets were staring at them. Mulan reached out and pulled Aurora closer to her, and the princess moved to her side without protest. Though she did not say it, Mulan knew that Aurora was afraid. They did not know who was friend and who was foe. She raised her sword, her faithful companion in war and peace times, into a defensive position and looked around, wary and ready to strike at anyone who made a move towards the princess.

"I am Fa-Mulan and I am looking for Emma Swan and Snow White."

No one answered her. They continued to stare. Mulan looked all around her, very little looked familiar. There was no visible castle or even banners to announce who the monarchs were. Had they even come to the right place?

"Does anyone know of Emma Swan and Snow White?"

One man, dressed in an odd bulky clothe armor wiped his black-stained hands on a rag, "They're down at Granny's Diner."

Mulan looked the man up and down. His hair was short and dark and the fancy script sewn into his clothe armor read 'Michael'

"What's a diner?"

Mulan blew out an annoyed breathe at Aurora's question, but she could not find fault in it. She did not know what the odd word meant either. She had learned the common tongue of the Enchanted Forest when she was an adult and still struggled with some words. She pieced it together the best she could and could hazard a guess.

"A tavern."

The man tossed the clothe over his shoulder, "More or less."

He sighed, "It's going to be a whole lot easier to show you where it is, then tell you."

Aurora nodded, and Mulan spoke for the both of them, "Lead on."


	3. Chapter II Home Sweet Home

Chapter III

Home Sweet Home

Emma Swan, a former convict turned sheriff and fairy tale savior was in love. Deep, heartfelt, all-encompassing love. She was finally ready to commit to a lifetime relationship. She had never thought she could truly commit, but then she'd been trapped in the Enchanted Forest. The separation had been acute and painful. She hadn't realized how deeply in love she'd been in until they'd been separated. She ran her fingers across the cool marble surface under her fingers. It was an oddly reverent movement, almost like worship.

"God I love you."

She had never been so happy to use a toilet in her life. She knew that her family and friends were waiting outside, but she wasn't sure she was ready to leave it yet. It was a real porcelain with water inside it, honest to God toilet. She had almost cried when she walked into the ladies' room at Granny's. It was sitting there, beautiful and white with a whole roll of toilet paper. The little things in life truly made a difference. Her adventure, as Henry called it, in the other world had been rough. She hadn't really considered how different the two worlds were until it was unmistakable. She was a city girl, a hardened survivor of the concrete jungle. She had conned her way half way across the country. She had survived being a ward of the state. She had been a Southie bounty hunter, for Christ's sake. In the fairy-tale forest she had quickly realized that three days of Brownie Scouts didn't cut it. She had been like Babes in the Woods. They were back now, though, and she was never _ever_ going back. She preferred modern conveniences like air conditioning, cars, and hot chocolate. She washed her hands, with real soap and warm water. Wonderful mechanically heated water that came out of a tap and had chlorine and fluoride and lead in it. She dried her hands on one of the rough brown paper towels and shot the damp and crumpled remains into the trashcan. She was never, ever, going anywhere where she couldn't get to a functional bathroom within five minutes.

More importantly, she paused at the bathroom door, she was never, ever, going anywhere where Henry was more than five minutes or a phone call away from her. She had missed The Kid so damn much it was mind-blowing. She, Emma Swan, loved and had missed her son. The best thing was that he had missed her too and loved her back. All she had wanted to do while she was gone was get back to him-to get back to her family. She had, for the first time in her life, had a home to come home to. She was going to sit beside her son and eat another grilled cheese sandwich and wonderfully greasy fries. She and Henry were going to split a very large banana split. She was going to joke and flirt with Ruby. She was going to wink at Granny, who always hated the way they flirted. She was going to watch her parents be disgustingly, over-the-top, cute and cuddly with each other. She was going to relax and enjoy the feeling of being at home.

She walked out of the bathroom and stopped mid-stride. Mulan and Aurora, two people who had been in the Enchanted Forest only an hour ago, were standing in the middle of the diner. Emma blinked, and hoped that she had fallen asleep on her beloved toilet. Aurora, clad in the same ragged dress, was hugging Henry. Mulan, still covered in armor and leather, stood stiffly in the middle of the room. Her almond shaped eyes darted to every face, looking for a threat.

Mary Margr-Snow, was happily introducing the two women. Emma couldn't quite process the scene. It seemed far away and out of focus, like she was looking through binoculars with Vaseline smeared over the lenses.

"How the _hell_ did you two get here?" She blurted it out without thinking, but it was a valid question.

Mulan, hands resting on the hilt, or was it the pommel (she didn't quite have sword parts figured out yet) and scowled. "The same way Cora did, on Hook's ship."

Emma dropped onto the nearest stool, she had been happy for all of half a freaking hour. They'd had half a freaking hour of peace. Damn it.

"Oh."

What a freaking bummer.

"Did _anyone else_ come with you?"

She was almost afraid to know. Cora and Hook were bad enough. Emma absent mindedly rubbed her chest. Her chest that Cora had shoved her hand into. They hadn't exactly made lots of friends during their journey through Fairy Tale Land. Well there had been ogres and a giant, chimeras, zombie peasants and every other horror movie creature that were going to hunt her in her nightmares for the rest of forever.

"Just a Gypsy woman."

* * *

Cora stared at Storybrooke, Maine as she had since their arrival. The town was spread out in front of them, and though she could not see her, she knew that her daughter was out there somewhere. She could see the small village from the deck of Hook's vessel and she wondered where Regina was. Cora breathed in, basking in the sunlight and promise of a new world. She would find her daughter. Her Regina was bigger than this town, these peons. They both were. She was going to remind the people exactly who they were. Their knees would crack and their hearts would crumble in her grasp. She would destroy Snow White, and especially Emma Swan. She would take pleasure from bringing down Eva's descendants. She and Regina would dance in the swirls of dust that their hearts would make. She would just have to remind her errant daughter that her place was at her side. It would not be hard. Regina had always been stubborn, but at the end of the day she was her father's daughter-weak and malleable.

"So this is the land my daughter created."

Hook was thoroughly unimpressed. He had sailed between worlds and explored places that were on no map. This Kingdom of Maine looked bland and lifeless. He leaned against the ship's main mast, legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at his ankles.

"It looks boring."

"Looks can be deceiving, Capitan."

He looked down at his hook, "You do know that _they_ will run to them and tell them of our arrival." His voice carried a hint of venom to it.

Cora chuckled, "Of course. A gypsy spell may have fooled me once, but I am too powerful to be fooled by the likes of _her_ now."

Hook rubbed his flesh and blood hand across the black scruff beard on his chin, "Then why, exactly, couldn't I use them as chum or at least played with them a little? The China Woman would have put up a ferocious fight." He paused, "And I've never had a Gypsy either. A man has needs and hobbies.

A murderous glint passed through Cora's eyes and Hook felt any amorous feelings in him curl up and die.

"You leave _that_ woman to me. You're only here for your crocodile, remember that."

Hook held up his hand and his hook in a quick sign of surrender, "Understood, love. I would hate to be on your bad side. I almost feel for the wench."

Cora's lips quirked into an ice cold smile, "No one crosses me and gets away with it, Killian. Esmeralda has been living on borrowed time for far too long."


	4. Chapter III The Nightingale

AN: This is still post_ "_Queen of Hearts" and I watch too much _Game of Thrones_ for anyone's good.

Chapter III

_Nightingale_

"_I'm not going down there!" A tiny silk-clad foot stamped the floor._

_Princess Regina was almost four years old and was acting like the child that she was. Esmeralda wanted to take the girl onto her lap and tell her that it was okay. She wanted to smooth the girl's hair and tell her that she did not have to go. It broke her heart that she could not do that. Princess Cora had demanded her daughter's presence. It was not every night that the King graced their manor with a visit and he expected to see his granddaughter._

"_But my little one you have on a pretty dress, do you not want the King to see how pretty you are?"_

"_I am plain and ugwy."_

_Esmeralda closed her eyes and sighed. These were Cora's words and Regina repeated them as if they were the truth. _

"_You look like your father, my sweet and he is the most handsome man in the kingdom. This is known." _

"_All of the pwincesses in the story books have yellow hair and blue eyes. I'm no pwincess."_

_Esmeralda settled on her knees beside the little girl who was scowling at the mirror._

"_Those stories were written by fools, Regina. You are beautiful, the most beautiful of them all."_

_The girl shook her head, "I'm brown."_

_The woman smiled at her, putting her face beside the still chubby three year old's face so she could see her in the mirror._

"_The nightingale is brown too, my little one, but it sings the sweetest song."_

_Tears that had been threatening to spill over, evaporated in Regina's dark eyes. "Like in my twee?"_

"_You will sing far sweeter than all of those story book princesses because you have a good heart." She kissed Regina's dark hair. "And no matter how beautiful and beloved you become, you will always be my little nightingale."_

"_Pwomise?"_

_Esmeralda wanted to promise so many things to the girl. She wanted to promise that she would have the happy ending she deserved. She wanted to tell her that she would always be happy. She wanted to promise her that Cora would never lay a hand on her again. It broke her heart that she could promise none of these things. _

"_Always and forever, Regina, no matter what."_

Esmeralda had travelled to Kingdoms that had no name. She had walked along the long wall of the Chin. She had traveled to lands that worshiped lions and lived in perpetual winter. She had walked across sands to a place where carpets could fly. She had stayed a fortnight on an island where no man was allowed to tread. She had never seen any place like this world. She had never imagined such a place. She had danced upon cobblestone streets lifetimes ago, but these roads were different, made of a black material that she'd never seen before. There were no horses, there were no carts, but large contraptions that she had no name for went by her. The houses were all neat and made of wood and stone. There were no huts with thatched roofs. There were no farm animals behind stick fences. She looked around the streets and growled in frustration. She was Romani, a master of travel, she could not be lost. She looked down at Regina, her face was ashen and her breathing strained. She had to get Regina somewhere safe before it was too late.

"I need a sign, Little One." Her Little One was not so little anymore, "please."

Then she smelled it: the faint, sweet scent of apples. Despite the desperate situation, she could not help but smile at the scent. She followed her nose, cradling her precious cargo against her to a large white manor-house with number 108 on its door. She was sure that Regina would have everything and more inside, but this was not where they needed to be. Regina needed to be beneath her tree. Esmeralda walked around the side of the white manor, eyes locked on the green leaves she saw dancing in the breeze. She fought with the fence's gate and sighed with relief when it finally swung open. Grass, green and alive, felt familiar under her bare feet. She smiled and headed to the one thing that she had known would be here. Regina's apple tree. She lay her nightingale on the grass beneath the tree. Her own words, spoken so long ago, echoed in her head: _So long as she tends to this tree, then she is not lost._ Weak from carrying the woman and from her worry, she fell to her knees beside her.

She pushed back the hood of her cloak to reveal her face. Ebony hair shot through with streaks of white tumbled down her shoulders and touched her Nightingale's still face. Slim dusky fingers brushed the hair away and caressed Regina's too-thin cheek. Esmeralda had not seen her since she had left two days before the girl's tenth name day. She had always been a pretty child, but now she was a beautiful woman. A green spark crackled just underneath Regina's too-pale skin and Esmeralda jerked her hand back. A beautiful woman who was well on her way to her final journey.

Regina's magic was purple, like Cora's. This green was some other sort of magic, and it was hurting the woman. Esmeralda waved her hand over Regina's still face. Her skin immediately prickled into goose bumps and her stomach fell. Fairy dust, and allot of it, was rushing through Regina's body. It was attacking her heart. What had happened? Esmeralda had studied magic in many different places and had never seen so much fairy dust used in a spell. The magic was fairy but the intent was very dark, it was a killing curse.

"Spirits preserve you, Regina."

Her hands trembled as she removed her cloak. She took her bag from her shoulders and threw it to the ground beside her. She struggled with the unfamiliar coat and silk shirt, she ripped buttons to bare Regina's chest. The skin above her heart was a poisonous green.

"No-no-no."

She shoved her hand into her bag and pulled out a small crystal. She put it in the center of Regina's forehead. It turned emerald green, then it exploded. Esmeralda twisted around, hand up to her eyes. Crystal shards peppered her cheek and arm. She sucked in a breath, and tried to control the fear that was burning like a wildfire in her chest. Her hands went to her waist. There were gold coins weaved into the shawl that she always wore around her hips. Some had been handed down to her from her clan, and others she had collected through her travels. She ripped one of the strings and put the coin on Regina's shuddering chest. It glowed green almost immediately. There was no change Regina's condition. Her great great grandmother had sewn her shawl, it had been in her clan for centuries and she was the last of her clan. She ripped the shawl into pieces without a second thought. Coins scattered on the grass and she placed them on Regina's chest-as many as she could fit. They started to absorb the magic, but it had little effect. Esmeralda swept the tainted coins off of Regina's body and started putting larger, older coins in their place.

The pile of poisonous coins grew on the grass and she started to scramble to find clean ones. After forty coins, Regina's breathing eased. After sixty her color started to return. After more than eighty coins dark eyes snapped open.

* * *

"A _gypsy_?"

Snow's voice echoed through the diner.

Aurora nodded, "She helped us stow-away on Hook's ship after Mulan put my heart back."

If anyone else had noticed her voice soften when speaking about Mulan, they didn't say so. Then again, how many times did someone put your heart back into your chest? Having her heart almost pulled out had been terrifying, but someone putting it back in sounded different. It sounded incredibly intimate.

"You trusted a _gypsy_?" David's voice was on the border of surprise and disgust and it shook Emma out of her thoughts.

She knew some Gypsies, of the American type. They were very cliquish and hard to get to know. Some were on the grift, posing as legitimate businessmen, carnival riff-raff, and the ever popular fortune teller act, to name a few of the classics. There were others, though, that were simply wanderers. They floated from town to town, never settling down. She understood that lifestyle. That had been her lifestyle for many years.

"Wait, wait, woah." Emma held her hands up. "I think the most important part of this whole thing is that Cora is here. In Storybrooke." She unconsciously moved closer to Henry. She pushed her hand through her blonde hair, "This is the worst case scenario." Her previous toilet-induced happiness buzz dissipated. We've gotta circle the wagons, call the Storybrooke National Guard Unit up and into action, and I don't know, prepare _stuff_." Emma's thoughts raced, "We have to tell Regina."

"She will be told."

Emma smirked, typical Mulan, strait to the point without wasting a word.

"Well _of course_ she knows. She probably met her mother at the dock with open arms and a box of chocolates." Snow grabbed her bow and quiver and scowled, "We have to stop them before they start an all-out war."

"Regina is the Evil Queen, right?"

"Yes." Henry, previously quiet, answered the Princess that he recognized from his dreams.

"Then she wasn't running anywhere and she's not with Cora. She collapsed back on the black stone road and the gypsy carried her away." Aurora's brows furrowed as she spoke. "She did not look good. I think she was confused, she called me by my mother's name."

The Diner erupted, everyone was saying something. Grumpy, already on the far side of tipsy, called for an immediate triple execution: Regina, Cora and the unnamed Gypsy.

Ruby, the voice of reason now, went to Snow's side and tried to bring order to the room.

Emma just stared at the chaos, unable to form words.

Emma looked down at Henry and saw the worry in his eyes, "I'm sure she's okay, Henry."

She hoped Regina was okay.

"A gypsy is almost as bad as Cora."

Snow's words finally quieted the chaos and she continued in the regal tone tha Emma still could not reconcile with the woman she had called Mary Margret, "But we don't know who she is yet."

"She's allied herself with the Evil Queen and she's a gypsy how much more do we need to know?" Grumpy, raring for a fight, beat his fist on the table to emphasize his drunken point.

Emma sighed, "What is the big deal with gypsies?"

The entire room looked at Emma and Snow sighed. It was that annoying sigh that she heaved every time something magical, mythical or fairy tale fantastic that everyone but her understood came up.

"Gypsys are a dark and inferior people, Emma. They are barbarians who have destroyed every settlement they ever built. They pass from town to town robbing the people, selling snake oil and fake love potions, spreading disease and cursing innocents. They were aligned with the Evil Queen in the war. You can't trust them."

Emma blinked, she hadn't expected that. She had never expected a racist remark to fly out of sweet Mary Margret's mouth. Then again, Emma mentally sighed, the bow wielding woman before her was not Mary Margret. Still, though, fairy tale racism? Really?

"Gypsies, The Romani people that is, weren't aligned with anyone during the war."

Archie pushed his glasses back up his nose and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "The Romani don't recognize any Kings or Queens."

He sounded like he knew more than he was letting on about the subject, but Emma had no time to push him on it because no one allowed for silence, everyone kept talking.

"That's true enough." Everyone turned to Granny Lucas. She stood behind the counter, "I never met a gypsy that I liked, but they weren't as bad as everyone makes 'em out to be. Most of you youngsters don't remember this, but some kingdoms took on Romani nursemaids as part of a peace pact with the Gypsy clans. It fell out of practice by the time King Leopold and Queen Eva, may their spirits rest in peace, had Snow." She wiped the counter and sighed, "But back in the Old Days a King would welcome a young Romani girl into his castle and she would protect his children from dark magics and assassins and in exchange her clan could come and go in his lands as they needed with no harassment or tariffs."

Snow's mouth twisted into a scowl, "My mother and father would have never allowed a _gypsy_ near me."

"The gypsy woman knew The Evil Queen."

Mulan met Emma's eyes and continued, "She seemed distressed, but we were not allowed to see her face, so I am not sure what she was truly thinking. She said she was taking her home."

* * *

Regina woke up with a strangled scream. Her hand went to her heart and her fingers brushed against something hard. Her vision swam into focus and she recognized the branches above her head. She was home, under her tree. How had she gotten home? Her last clear memory had been leaving Gold's Shop everything after that was hazy hallucinations of familiar faces and a warped landscape of buildings twisted beyond recognition. She turned her head, and felt like even that was a gargantuan effort. The face that looked down at her was painfully familiar. The dark hair, the emerald green eyes, the ragged scar that cut across a dusky cheek and through plump lips.

"Am I dead?" She croaked, her throat was raw and speaking was painful, "is this Hell?"

Husky laughter, as familiar as the face, filled her ears, "Does this look like Hell, my Little Nightingale?"

Regina licked her painfully dry and cracked lips, and was unsurprised to taste blood. "You're dead. My mother showed me your heart. She crushed it into dust."

Esmeralda, her childhood nurse, the woman she had wanted to be her mother so much that she had wished on every star and knelt in every mushroom circle she had ever seen, rolled her warm green eyes. "She lied. No one, no witch, demon or even the Dark One himself, can remove a Romani heart. To attempt would mean death. This is known."

This is known. She couldn't even count how many times she had heard that phrase as a child. It was warm and familiar, like a favorite security blanket.

"Here." Esmeralda took Regina's limp and shaking hand in her own steady one and placed it on her chest. "Do you feel it?"

She could, Regina felt the steady thud of the other woman's heart. She was _alive_. Something in Regina, she did not know what, broke. She pushed herself off the grass and grabbed onto the woman above her, clinging to her like a life raft. Tears, unbidden, rushed to her eyes. She didn't understand how this was possible, but she didn't care. Maybe she was dead, maybe her mind had broken and she was locked in the asylum. Maybe Esmeralda was truly beside her. It didn't matter which it was, she was not alone. For the first time since her father, she was not alone. The scents she had always associated with Esmeralda, sandalwood and cinnamon spice, met her nose. Comfortable, familiar and always welcoming arms wrapped around her the last of her control broke. Tears, heartbroken and bitter tears coninued to pour out of her eyes. Regina buried her face in the other woman's shoulder and the sobs overtook her. The logistics of it escaped her, but Regina found herself being pulled onto Esmeralda's lap. She hadn't sat in anyone's lap since she was ten years old. Regina, for the first time in a long time, felt safe and loved and that was the cruelest feeling of all because it would not last. It never lasted.


	5. Chapter IV Every Modern Convenience

AN: This chapter is still just after "Queen of Hearts" time-line wise, but there are spoilers for "The Miller's Daughter" and a couple for "Welcome to Storybrooke". Also kapuis asked for Rumple: Be careful what you wish for, Dearie.

Also Sexy Savior Shower Scene!

Chapter IV

Every Modern Convenience

"Congratulations, you've just reunited mother and son, maybe one day they'll even invite you for dinner."

His words were salt on Regina's open and bloody wounds. They both knew that would never happen. That dinner would never come and even if it did, Regina wouldn't be around to enjoy it. It had been a truly foolish move, Gold mused, but once Regina put her mind to something there was no way to stop her. It was a quality of hers that he had used to his advantage before. To be honest he had looked forward to using her power and desperate need for love and happiness again. Regina was like a loaded gun, he would just need to point her in the direction he wished and pull the trigger. It had worked before, spectacularly, and he had no doubt he could have pushed her to the edge of the precipice at least one more time. It was a pity she was either dead or dying. The energy she had absorbed at the well had been too potent, too powerful and too poisonous to survive. The fact that she hadn't immediately crumpled into a smoking corpse spoke to how much power and potential his former apprentice had in her. It would eat through her quickly though, from the inside out. She had, to be crude, injected battery acid into her bloodstream. It would froth in her brain, burn through her limbs and attack her heart. It would be a cruel and painful death. A cruel death for a cruel woman, the townsfolk would say. No one, not even the boy she'd raised as her son for ten years, would mourn the fallen queen or be thankful for her sacrifice. On the contrary, there would probably be a celebration of some sort. There might even be fireworks. Wasn't it terribly ironic, that Regina had sacrificed her life to allow the two women she hated more than anything to return to Storybrooke to their perfect family and their happy ending? It was almost poetic, in a morbid way of course.

He would have to be the one to collect her body, before the mob pounced on it, and put her in the Mills Mausoleum. He would lay her casket, black onyx and gold he decided, beside her father's in the crypt. Should he dress her cold corpse as The Evil Queen, corsets, jewels and dark, dramatic makeup? Or the Mayor of Storybrooke: Designer suit, understated makeup with a picture of Henry clutched in her stiff fingers? He smirked at the choices and wondered how each would play out. Henry and Regina, loving father and daughter, would lie in theif coffins side by side for eternity. It would be a tragic and dark image laid out for the one person who would mourn for them; for Cora.

Ah Cora, he absently mindedly ran his fingers across the decorative swirls on his cane's silver handle, the Queen of Hearts herself had descended on Storybrooke with little fanfare or attention. He had noticed. How could he miss the shudder of power when the ship came into the usually calm and silent harbor? Did Jones really think he wouldn't recognize _The Jolly Roger_? Then again it was equally laughable to think that Cora thought he couldn't see through her cloaking spell. He had taught the woman magic, after all. She would be devastated to find her daughter dead. Devastated, furious and searching for vengeance. Cora's endless supply of cold and calculated blood lust was what drove her magic. She was, quite literally, heartless and that was what made her so dangerous. She was a very different woman then the one he had struck a deal with years before. The passionate miller's daughter, who smelled of straw and cheap marketplace perfume, had become a powerful sorceress and the supposedly mad queen of Wonderland. He thought of the spinning wheel that had so recently been used to curse David Nolan to sleep. It was hard, very hard, to spin straw to gold without thinking of the heat of Cora's skin under his fingers. The way she had kissed him. Then she had been gone. Just like Milah. Just like Baelfire. His hand clenched around the handle of his cane again. Cora was trouble, far worse than her daughter could imagine being.

Without her heart she had no weaknesses, not love for her daughter or even self-preservation, just a desire for power. Regina, at least, had love. He had used her love for the stable boy. Then he had dangled the idea of happiness in front of her and she had chased that. Regina did so want her happy ending. Now there was Henry to consider. As Regina's only child, thanks to him of course, Cora would be very interested in him. Young Henry Mills, could prove to be very valuable in the coming days.

His thoughts were interrupted by the tinkling of bells that signaled someone was entering the shop. Hadn't he put the closed sign up? He was sure he had. He'd had enough of Storybrooke's intrepid citizens today. He limped out of his backroom, "The sign says I'm clo-Belle." Everything, his face, his voice, and even his thoughts softened at the sight of the woman.

She smiled at him, "Rumple."

The light from the closing door gave a halo effect to dark hair that curled at her shoulders. She was angelic, with her crystal blue eyes and quick and easy smile.

"I heard there was some sort of dust-up by the well. I wanted to make sure you're all right."

Just like that, with a few simple words, he dismissed his plotting.

"Well, my dear, let me make us some tea and I will tell you about it."

* * *

The impromptu party had ended quickly and on a sour note after the tense gypsy conversation and Emma had taken the opportunity to excuse herself and Henry. They walked down the streets of Storybrooke hand in hand. Henry was probably a little too old to hold hands with her, but she was so happy to be back with him that she probably wouldn't have let go even if he'd begged.

Was this how Regina felt when she was with Henry?

The thought was so startling that Emma stumbled as she walked. She had been a real mother to Henry for what seemed like all of five minutes. Regina had been there for _years_. She'd taken care of Henry when Emma had been too young, too wild and too hurt and stupid to step up and be a parent. What had Regina told her? She had changed every diaper, soothed every fever and endured every tantrum." The way the woman's voice had hitched on the word tantrum told Emma that Henry had probably thrown more than a few.

Then Emma had blown into town and taken him away.

"Mom Mom Mom! Emma!" Henry tugged on her arm hard enough to catch her attention.

She jerked to attention, "Yeah, Kid?"

Henry looked up at her, concern flashing in his hazel eyes, "Are you okay? I called your name like four times."

She hadn't heard him. "Yeah, sorry, I must be more tired than I thought. What did you wanna ask me?"

"Do you think she's really okay?"

She blinked, momentarily confused, "Who?"

Henry rolled his eyes, "My mo-Regina. Aurora said that she collapsed in the middle of the road."

In all the commotion about Cora and Hook and nameless Gypsies she hadn't even thought about Regina's reported collapse. For some reason that made her feel ashamed of herself. Even more ashamed of herself than before. She didn't like the feeling.

"I-uh, I don't know."

Henry frowned, "It looked like it hurt allot."

Emma paused again, what had happened at the well before she'd climbed out of it? "What did?"

Henry blinked, "The magic. She sucked up all this green magic from the well. Mr. Gold and Mom thought that Cora would come through and Mom was scared but I begged her to trust me because I _knew_ you and Grams were coming through. It looked like it hurt allot. She fell down against a tree. Do you think that's why she collapsed?"

Well she wasn't a doctor or a magician, but considering what Henry told her, yeah it was probably what had caused Regina to collapse. She tried to figure out what to say as they walked.

"I'll go check on her tomorrow after I drop you off at school."

Emma hadn't realized what she was going to say until it was already out of her mouth. Henry smiled up at her, satisfied with that answer. So apparently she was going to check on Regina tomorrow. Joy and rapture.

In the few minutes it took to get back to the apartment she shared with Mary Mar-Snow, whatever, Henry had already planned out half of her next week. They were going to the stables to meet his horse and there was the school family dance, and the science fair was coming up too. It was all so domestic-a page out of _Mommy Magazine_. This whole Mother thing was just as overwhelming as being a fairy tale princess, if not more so. She wasn't ready for any of this. Henry ran ahead of her, into the building and down the hall to unlock the door, which was great because she had no idea where her keys were.

The first things she saw the couch, comfy and soft, she almost wept for joy. She fell on it, face first, and didn't want to move. She breathed in deep, expecting to catch the whiff of lavender and vanilla that Mary Margret's place always smelled of. She, instead, smelled the smoky, grimy filth of a body and clothes that had been worn for far too long. She reeked. She pulled the collar of her leather jacket and sniffed it. It smelled so awful that she almost gagged. She shrugged out of it and tossed it in the general vicinity of the trash can. There was no saving the garment. She lifted her head up to find that Henry had disappeared. To retrieve his book she assumed, and with that thought she shoved herself up off the couch.

She walked into the bathroom and stared, just stared. She almost felt a tear come to her eye. It was so pretty and clean and she was so dirty-she was a very dirty girl. She closed the door behind her and walked towards her goal without blinking, it was almost a trance. She was filthy and she smelled like a garbage truck and she hadn't had a proper shower in far far too long.

"I'm a dirty girl but that's how you like me." Emma loved, seriously loved, modern plumbing. She was never going to take it for granted again. Hell, she wasn't even sure she was going to leave this bathroom again. She pushed the plastic shower curtain aside. It wasn't the prettiest thing in the world. the tub and shower were old and its pipes shuddered and squeaked and there was a crack down the porclin side of the tub but the water would be hot and plentiful. She turned the tap on full and ran her hands under the stream of clean water.

"Oh my God, you're so hot."

Emma peeled off her tank top and jeans and dropped them to the floor. Her underwear, which was beyond saving at this point, fell to the floor beside her clothes and she stepped into the stream.

"And wet."

The water pounded down on her neck and shoulders. It slicked her tangled mop of curls to her scalp and Emma let out a moan.

"That feels _so_ _good_."

The water was just a little too hot for comfort, but felt amazing. She blindly reached for the nearest bottle of body wash. She flipped the top up and poured the soap directly into her hands. Her eyelids, heavy as lead, slammed closed and her mouth curved

Apples, of course. Why had they even had this bottle? She didn't remember. She rubbed the shower gel across her flat stomach and breasts. Her hands rubbed the soap across her stiff shoulders and down her arms.

The shower now smelled like Regina.

Images of the other woman, the Evil Queen, the Bitchy Mayor, the adoptive mother of her son flashed behind her closed eyelids. A woman with dark eyes full of secrets and sadness who had destroyed a world in search of happiness. Her voice, hot and rough like whiskey sounded in her ears. She always called her Miss Swan. She had heard it called in the frigid yet professional mayor voice and the bitter voice of a terrified mother. What would it sound like in the bedroom? Would Regina call her Miss Swan when she climaxed? Would her voice sweeten with her pleasure or would it become deeper and rougher with passion?

Her skin would taste like "the best apple cider she'd ever tasted" and would feel like silk under her fingers. Emma knew that despite the woman's olive toned skin, she would bruise easily. Love bites on her shoulder and thighs, scratches down her back, and lips swollen from kissing. She would have to wear long sleeves to hide the bruises on her wrists from Emma's handcuffs.

"Emma."

The queen, gloriously naked, would buck underneath Emma, begging for her release.

"Emma!"

She would lift the impeccably dressed mayor onto the desk she ruled the City Hall from and lift the woman's skirt.

"EMMA!"

She had saved the woman's life twice, once from Gold's fire and once from the soul sucker. Regina would thank her with a hot and eager mouth maybe on her knees looking up at Emma. She would quietly call her "my savior" before kissing her way down Emma's body.

"EMMA!"

Mary Margret-Snow's voice followed by loud insistent banging on the bathroom door snapped Emma out of her daze. She jerked and came very close to slipping in the shower. She grabbed the curtain to stop herself and winced when she heard one of the curtain rings rip through the plastic curtain.

"JUST A MINUITE I'M ALMOST DONE!" Emma had been stading with her head down, one hand braced on the slick tile wall of the shower and the other hand had been sliding down her body towards-

"You better not have used all the hot water!"

Emma winced again. The shower had turned ice cold, but she hadn't even noticed. The cold was nice, refreshing even. Honestly she needed the cold now more then the heat. She could feel her pulse settling and the buzzing heat that had settled in her belly and between her legs started to slowly dissipate. She reached for the shampoo bottle with a somewhat less shaky hand.

Five minutes later she walked out of the shower wrapped in the fuzzy white terrycloth robe that Mary Margaret had insisted on buying her several months before.

She sheepishly apologized for using all the hot water before hurrying to her room to put on pajama bottoms and a fresh, clean and bleached tank top. She padded back out to the living room and settled down on the couch with Henry to watch TV. She could not think about what had just happened. Her brain was too tired and she was too emotionally spent to think about _that. _Henry, overjoyed that she was back, popped his new favorite DVD into the player and they settled in to watch.

She started to doze off about five minutes into _The Avengers_. She was trying to pay attention, but quickly lost it when the brunette second in command, who snapped orders like Regina, came on screen.

Okay, so where had the sexual thoughts of Regina come from? It wasn't as if she was attracted to the woman. She was bossy, bitchy, had a stick up her ass and she was literally evil. She was also beautiful, brunette and broken. Those were her holy trinity: the things that always attracted Emma to trouble, like a moth to a flame.

She fell asleep somewhere between Capitan America beating up a punching bag and Samuel Jackson saying something totally badass.

* * *

Henry had already seen _The Avengers_ about sixteen times, so wasn't disappointed when Mary Margret turned it off so Emma could sleep on the couch undisturbed. He helped David tuck an afghan around his sleeping mother and smiled a little bit. He was so glad she was home. He did worry a little, though, when she started mumbling in her sleep. He didn't want her to have bad dreams. All the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention, though, when he clearly heard the sleeping blonde whisper "Regina" in her sleep.

They had only been reunited for a few hours and the Evil Queen was already trying to hurt his family again.

* * *

She felt weak in a way she hadn't in years. She had no physical or emotional strength left in her. She could stand, if she leaned against her apple tree, but walking had simply been too much. Had she been alone, she would not have made it.

Thankfully, she was not alone. Esmeralda helped her walk to the backdoor. The kitchen was clean, but that was not why Esmeralda gasped when she helped Regina into it. The Romani woman did not have the benefits of the curse on her side. Regina had awoken in town just like everyone else and the curse had filled in the blanks. She had instinctively known what an electric stove was and how to use a faucet. This was an entirely different world for Esmeralda.

"I know it's different. Very different."

That, Regina knew, was the understatement of the year.

Despite the strong arms helping to hold her up, her knees started to wobble again.

"We need to get you into bed."

She scowled at Esmeralda. She did not want to go to bed. She hadn't seen this woman in _so_ many years. Long, hard, bitter years full of loneliness and evil deeds. She wanted to talk to her, explain how she had turned from a chubby-cheeked ten year old into an evil queen and then into an outcast ex-mayor. She wanted to ask where she had been. Find out how the woman had come to Storybrooke. She wanted to thank her for saving her life. When everything in her tastefully yet functional decorated kitchen suddenly doubled, she decided that sitting down for a minute might be a good idea.

"There's a couch in the den, the room just through here. We can sit down and talk a minute."

Regina has no idea what is going through her beloved nursemaid's head. Was she overwhelmed by the world she has found herself in? Was she disgusted by what her Little Nightingale had become? Did Esmeralda know that she'd killed Daddy to get this empty mansion in a town full of people that hated her?

They get to the den, slowly but surely, and Regina sank onto the fainting couch with a sigh. Esmeralda sits in the nearby overstuffed chair.

Regina had so many things she wanted to say, questions she wanted to ask. She's so tired, though, in more ways than one.

"I'm sorry."

Regina doesn't know what she's apologizing for, exactly. Maybe for everything, she isn't sure.

"I know you are, Nightingale."

She slides down into a laying position, her eyes still locked on Esmeralda. She's afraid that if she looks away, the woman will be gone. It's childish and petty, but that was what she felt.

She looked different, older and somehow sadder than before. Her clothes are still a beautiful rainbow of bright colors and ruffles of lace and silk. Her hair was as thick and wild as it had always been, but not there were streaks of white intertwined with the midnight black. Where had she been? Why had she left? Why was she back? Why now? How?

"I missed you."

Yet another tear streaked down Regina's cheek. She had all these questions, but wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answers. She didn't want to take charge and be the mayor. She just wanted things to be like they were before-just for a few more minuites.

"Allot."

Her eyes were sliding closed and Regina fought to keep them open. She wasn't ready to go to sleep, not yet.

"Sleep, Regina. I will be here when you wake up."

Regina shook her head, she wanted to speak, there was so much to say: years and years worth of things to say.

"I have a son."

Her pride and joy, her reason for living, her Henry.

Esmeralda smiled, and looked every bit as beautiful as she had when Regina was a child.

"I named him after Daddy."

She plucked the framed picture of Henry off the nearby side-table with shaky hands and handed it to Esmeralda. There are long lists, thick tomes that could be written about the evil she's done in her life. Henry is the one good thing she's ever done.

Esmeralda looked at the picture and Regina would swear that there were tears forming in the other woman's eyes.

"How?"

Regina could not be surprised that Esmeralda asked her that. The Romani, as she had been told countless times as a child, knew all that was past, present and future.

"I adopted him when he was a newborn."

Adoption was not only accepted in the Romani, it was a revered tradition. When she was a child she had often imagined that Esmeralda would adopt her and the three of them, Esmeralda, Daddy and herself, would run away and go on adventures together.

Regina was slipping in and out of a doze so she didn't see the woman move, but felt a pair of lips press against her forehead.

"He is beautiful. Your father would have adored him."

Something warm was spread over her and Regina felt herself giving into the sleep that her body so petulantly demanded.

"Will you stay?"

Her voice sounded small, like Henry's when he'd been three and she'd been his everything.

"Of course."

Then Esmeralda started to sing a familiar song. It was the same lullaby she had fallen asleep to for her first ten years of life. It was the same lullaby that she had sang to Henry when he'd been a baby.

She fell asleep with a smile on her still too pale face.

* * *

Esmeralda watched the younger woman fall asleep and smiled. Regina was curled up on what she had called a couch. Though she had handed her back the picture of the boy, Regina had not put it back on the table, she curled her arms around it. She clutched to the picture in her sleep as tightly as she had her dolls as a girl. Esmeralda did not know where the blankets were kept and frankly had no idea where to start looking. Regina, though, would get cold, she always had. Esmeralda spread her cloak over Regina's slight form as a blanket and couldn't help but chuckle when the woman snuggled into it. Her face, pale and drawn, held stress and pain even in her sleep. Regina, the child of her heart, was no longer the innocent she had once been. Esmeralda had heard of her deeds. Word and fear of the Evil Queen had stretched far and wide. Despite her knowledge, and Esmeralda had known that things would be complicated at best, and that Regina would need lots of help, but she had never expected it to be this _bad_.

"Oh Henry, what has happened to our little girl?"

She spoke, of course, to Regina's father, not her son.

Son, Regina finally had a child of her own. Where was he and why did even mentioning his name come with both pride and sorrow in her Little One's brown eyes? Her eyebrows furrowed when Regina started to whimper in her sleep. She had never grown out of her night terrors, it seemed. She settled down beside the woman, as she had so many times when the woman had been only a girl, and stroked her hair to calm her.

When Regina calmed again, Esmeralda pulled her satchel close and opened it. There were many odds and ends in her bag. Clothing, food, a dagger for protection, and then there was her book. She took the ancient leather volume out and opened it on her lap. She had to learn about the new land she had found herself in. She flipped the book open to the middle.

"Show me Storybrooke."

She read almost as quickly as the words appeared on the page. Her concentration only broke when Regina began to whimper again. Most of the sounds were indistinguishable and jumbled, but one word was inmistakable and it caused Esmeralda's jet black brow to rise in curiosity. Who was Emma and why did she haunt her Little Nightingale's dreams?


	6. Chapter V Esmeralda

See Prologue for ratings, disclaimer and other information.

Author's Note: WOW! Thanks for all the great feedback, everyone. It's very encouraging!

Spoilers for: The Miller's Daughter

Chapter V

_Esmeralda_

"_They say," The man told the bundle in his arms, "that the Romani know all that was, is, and will be. They are in touch with the deepest and most ancient magics."_

_Prince Henry rode through the forest with no guards or company save for the precious baby he held close to his heart. He had not known love until his daughter had been placed, fluid covered and wailing, into his arms. She was three months old and still he stared at her in wonder. Her eyes had darkened to match his own dark brown and her hair, once so sparse and light, had become thick and dark. She looked like him. She was his precious princess and he would love her absolutely and always._

"_My mother, your grandmother, had a Romani nursemaid and she taught her the Old Ways." _

_His father had not approved of the Old Ways. He was a man who worried about money and power more than the magics of nature and the balance of forces. Henry missed his mother more than he could explain. She'd possessed a sharp tongue, a quick wit and a kind heart. The night he and Cora had danced he had thought he'd seen a bit of his mother sparkling in the eyes behind the stolen mask. He'd been wrong. She was more like his father then his mother. She had bought their marriage with the straw she spun to gold. He was her way to power, and their marriage was his father's way of refilling the kingdom's coffers. All he had received from the marriage pact was Regina. He looked down at her, asleep against his chest, and knew that she was worth more to him then magic gold or a cold throne._

"_When each of us, your aunts, uncles and I, were born my mother took us to the woods. I don't know how but she always knew where to find the Romani, the Gypsies. There was an old woman, a soothsayer, and she would tell Mother of our destinies." He was deeply worried for his daughter. Cora practiced magic, but it was not all spinning wheels and gold. There were darker spells and each day she grew more and more comfortable with using them. She was becoming more like him, like the imp. He didn't want Cora's darkness to touch Regina. He had to know that she would be protected from it. He had to ask his mother's chosen people for help. _

_The scouts found him long before he found the caravan. There was an empty road and in the blink of an eye two archers and a man with a rapier stood in his path._

"_State your business."_

_The Romani recognized no kingdoms or kings. "My name is Henry, son of Rose, and I've brought my child to see Patia the Soothsayer."_

_A fourth person stepped out of the dark tangle of trees, "Patia no longer travels in this realm." _

_Henry recognized the phrase and felt his heart sink, Patia had been his mother's nursemaid and had blessed him and all of his siblings._

_He lowered his head, "May her journey be ever-bright." _

_He tugged the reigns to turn around and go home._

"_Her granddaughters serve as our soothsayers now. They will see you, Son of Rose."_

_One of the men led him through the maze of tents and wagons to a familiar red and green tent. He dismounted from his horse and knew, without being told, that the young man would see to his steed. The Romani would consider it rude not to see to a visitor's horse. The movement jostled Regina awake, but she did not cry. She gurgled a little and when he looked down at her, she smiled. _

_He stepped ducked inside of the tent and when his eyes adjusted lowered his head in a sign of respect. "Thank you for seeing me, Soothsayers."_

_The first woman, her face hidden by a heavy green cloak and hood, nodded to him. "Our clan has known your family for many generations, Son of Rose."_

_The second woman, hidden in a red cloak, stepped towards him, "And who is this?"_

_He shifted the baby in his arms, "This is Regina, my first born."_

_The first woman waved a hand over the baby's now uncovered head and immediately stepped backwards. The second woman let her hand hover over the baby's head for a moment then also stumbled away. _

"_We will not bless this child."_

_The first woman's voice was horse and her words harshly spoken._

_The second woman shook her head, "Go, Son of Rose, and do the merciful thing."_

_Henry pulled Regina close to his chest again, "The merciful thing?"_

"_Drown the babe in the nearest stream."_

_Henry's jaw dropped open, "What blasphemy do you speak?!"_

_The third woman stepped forward, and placed herself between Henry and the other two soothsayers. She was taller than the first two and robed in a purple cloak. _

_ "Let me see the child."_

_Henry shook his head and took a step back, "I will not let anyone hurt my daughter."_

_ "I will not harm her, Son of Rose, I give my word."_

_There was something in her voice that he trusted. His mother had taught him that a Romani never broke their word._

_She reached out and the sleeve of her dress slid back to reveal bright pink burn scars. She took Regina and the baby, who usually protested being held by anyone new, gurgled happily. The woman touched the baby's smooth forehead with two slender fingers._

"_This child has a dark cloud around her, Son of Rose."_

_Fear, the same fear that had been squirming in his gut since he'd caught Cora mucking around with a book of magic spells, crawled up his throat. "What does that mean?"_

_The purple clad woman pushed a dark strand of hair off of the baby's forehead, "She will bring wonders and sorrows to our world. She has been touched by The Dark One."_

_ "The Imp."_

_He hissed the words through gritted teeth. What had Cora done to their child?_

_The Romani soothsayer let out a small sigh, "What are you willing to give up for this child's happiness?"_

_Henry spoke immediately and without thought, "Anything-everything."_

_The woman switched Regina to one arm and used the newly freed one to push back her hood. _

_Henry was immediately struck dumb by the most incredible green eyes he'd ever seen. The woman was an exotic beauty the likes of which he had never beheld. She had dark, luminous hair and a face that could make an angel weep. Her face, though beautifully formed, was marked by a viscous red scar that cleaved her lips and cut across one cheek. This mark, he knew, was one of violence. He knew what a sword stroke to the face looked like. He could not fathom who could attack such a beautiful woman._

_His hands responded without his command. He brushed his thumb across her scarred cheek. "Tell me who did this, Lady. They will not escape The King's Justice." His whole hand came alive with sparks when he touched her._

"_He is far out of your king's reach, Son of Rose."_

_Henry dropped his hand, "You just told me that my daughter will be the sorrow of the world, I think you can call me Henry, Soothsayer."_

_The woman looked away from him, "Henry, then. You will have to sacrifice your very life to give your daughter even the smallest chance of happiness. She will go to the ends of this world and beyond searching for her happiness. She will sow revenge and war and reap only loss and sadness."_

_Tears sprang to his eyes, "Because of my wife and the imp?"_

_The emerald eyed soothsayer lowered her eyes to look at the baby in her arms. "The choices she makes will ultimately be hers, but I cannot deny that I see their machinations in her life, like ever-present shadows on the wall._

_Henry fell to his knees before her, "Please tell me what to do. Surely there is something. Are you telling me that she will never have love or happiness? That she will be a demon with no redemption?"_

_The woman lowered to her knees in front of him and held the baby out to him. "There is always redemption, Henry-father of Regina, and there is always love. Hers will be a long, complicated story but it is not without light or love."_

_He took the baby and held her close, so close and so tight that Regina began to wiggle in discomfort. "I can save her, then?"_

_She touched his face, as gently as he had hers, "She will have a savior." She closed her eyes, the words tugged a tear out of her eye, "But not you, it is not your destiny. I'm sorry."_

_Two hands, one on each shoulder, violently tugged the soothsayer away from him._

"_Sister!" The green one exclaimed._

"_We cannot have anything to do with this dark child." The red one said gravely._

_She shook herself loose of them. "I saw my destiny with the child."_

_Both women shook their heads so violently that their hoods slid back._

"_You cannot."_

"_The leader will forbid it."_

"_Esmeralda do not do this!"_

_Henry let the name settle in his mind, it was as foreign and lovely as the woman it belonged to._

"_She will need a guide in this life."_

_He lifted himself to one knee, was she saying what he thought she was saying?_

"_Please." He tugged the bottom of her robe, like a peasant begging a king, "Please help me, Esmeralda. Help me save my daughter."_

_The woman in the green cloak sighed, "He is weak. His love for this dark child will be the end of us all."_

_The woman in red shook her head, "His love is a weakness this world cannot afford."_

_Henry's head fell forward, he was too overwrought to hold it steady anymore. How many times had he heard his father say that? Love was weakness. He had never believed it until now. _

_Esmeralda tugged Henry's head back up forcing him to look deep into her eyes, "No."_

_She touched his face, sending vibrations through his entire being, "Love is always strength."_

_Esmeralda moved her other hand to touch the babe's chubby face gently, "and love is the only thing that can save this child."_

AN 2: When I started this story I knew that I wanted to explore all many characters and Henry Sr is someone who intrigues me. The love is weakness/strength argument is an important part of Regina's character and began long before Daniel.


	7. Chapter VI: Reunited

Author's Note: This took far longer then I expected it to. Ruby sort of decided to interject herself into the story unexpectedly. This is an Emma heavy chapter. said that when she prepares for Emma scenes she asks herself what a fourteen year old boy would do and that is where I went for this Emma too.

Funny story: Earlier this week in my Advanced Composition class the professor brought up fanfiction. I was actually working on this story when it came up. I had to rise up and defend fanfics when he said it was all about sex. This lead to the decision to base my upcoming comparitive media essay on Once.

Family, Adoption and Heteronormality: Once Upon A Time and Modern Family.

So you guys read this chapter, enjoy it (hopefully), review it (please!) and I'm going to go write an essay.

Chapter VI

Reunited

Everybody went to Granny's Diner. Literally everyone in Storybrooke. They came to eat, to gossip and to drink coffee in the morning, milkshakes in the afternoon and alcohol at night. Granny's hosted every party, formal or otherwise, and was the stage for plenty of scenes both good and bad. Ruby had personally witnessed fourteen break-ups, fifty-five first dates and countless fights. Twenty-eight years with the same people living in limbo together made for a special blend of drama. Maybe that's why she loved her job. It wasn't always the greatest and the schedule sort of took over her life, but she did genuinely enjoy her work. She enjoyed being at the crossroads of the town, being into everyone business and knowing exactly what was up.

Her job had allowed her to be one of the first people to meet the town's newest arrivals. Princess Aurora and her strong and silent guard dog Mulan had brought drama and big news back from the Old World with them. Everything about them stuck out and not for the first time, Ruby appreciated the knowledge the curse had bestowed on her. She knew what cars and cell phones and e-bay were. Everything about the newly arrived women reminded her of The Enchanted Forest. They smelled of magic, pine trees and roasted chimera. Scents she had thought she would never smell again, that she wasn't sure she wanted to smell again.

Aurora was dressed in the tattered remains of a gown, the princess sort of thing that the nobles pranced around in, and a crown. Girl needed a makeover, stat. She had offered last night when Granny had given the new arrivals each a room for the night, but Aurora had politely declined. Politely for a royal, that was. Ruby loved Snow and David, but had never felt at home in their world of riches and castles. They had always been kind and true friends, but most nobles were not. They thought they were better than all the so-called common folk. Aurora struck her as one of the spoiled princess types who would trip a servant just for looking at them in the eyes. Maybe she was wrong, she hoped she was. There had been something about the way the girl had declined her offer of clothes that set her inner wolf on edge. She, and her clothes, were equal to the princess here. There were no Kings and Queens in Storybrooke, just animal shelter workers, school teachers, mayors and waitresses.

Mulan had also declined the clothing, but she had also declined the room. She had settled down in front of Aurora's door and proceeded to clean and polish her sword and armor. Though her hands were busy, her eyes had been alert. She had kept guard duty over Aurora all night long. She had tried to, at least, Ruby had caught her uncomfortably dozing with her head leaned against the door frame, this morning when she'd left her room to open the diner. The woman's sword had still been in her hands. That was another thing Ruby liked about Storybrooke, there were no servants. Sure, she was a waitress and she served people, but she wasn't bound to anyone's service. She wasn't expected to stand guard all night. Not anymore.

With that in mind, she took the women's breakfast over to their booth. Neither woman had known what to order, so she brought pancakes for both of them and a large steaming cup of coffee for Mulan.

"What are these?"

Aurora eyed the plate with suspicion, her voice betrayed her confusion.

Mulan smirked, "Pancakes, they're good."

The warrior picked up the ceramic coffee mug and inhaled. Pleasure played across her face for a moment and she smiled a small, reserved, smile and nodded her head to Ruby, "_Thank you_."

The bells over the entry way jingled and Ruby turned, out of sheer habit, away from the princess and the warrior.

The newcomers were regulars, did Granny's ever get another kind of customer, and Ruby grinned.

"Steve, Lia, you want your usuals?" She walked back around the counter and started to prepare their drinks.

Steve was the owner and only agent at Storybrooke Insurance and he liked his coffee hot, black and very strong. Lia was the school principal and liked her latte with soy milk, no foam and fat and sugar free vanilla syrup.

Neither answered, and when something heavy, Lia's briefcase, clattered to the floor, Ruby looked over the espresso machine to see what was going on.

Lia Weathersby, sharply pressed and a little repressed with never a strand of sandy brown strand of hair out of place, stood in the middle of the diner with her hand over her mouth, blue eyes wide.

"_Aurora_?"

* * *

Emma walked to 108 Mifflin Street. She could have drove, would have loved to drive her precious car, but needed to extra time to think. Then again, maybe she had got used to walking everywhere during her time in the Land that Chevrolet Forgot. What was she supposed to say anyway?

Hey, so I heard you sucked up an evil spell so we wouldn't die. Any bad side-effects from that? Kay, thanks. It sounded weird. Of course it did, Emma kicked a pebble and scowled as it disappeared under one of the countless white picket fences that made up the residential area of Storybrooke. Her entire life sounded weird at this point. Just a handful of months ago if someone had told her this was how her life would be, she would have had them committed for psychiatric evaluation. Hell, sometimes she felt like she needed psychiatric help. Too bad the only head-shrinker in town was Jiminy-Freaking-Cricket. She wished she hadn't told Henry she'd do this. She should be at home, possibly enjoying another shower. Then she could go to the station and look at the mess David had made with her paperwork. God, Regina would be pissed when-only Regina wasn't the mayor anymore. Did Storybrooke even need a mayor? Didn't the curse take care of everything anyway?

Ugh! This was all too complicated for her. Need someone to run a quick Three Card Monte game, steal a car, or catch a bail-jumper, then Emma Swan was your woman. All this other stuff, fairy tales and politics and sharing a son with a wicked witch, was way out of her depth. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her clean blue jeans and let out a long sigh. This was her life, though. Storybrooke was home. Her family, as complicated as it was, lived here. She had friends here, and responsibilities. Emma Swan, runner extraordinaire, master of the no-strings-attached approach to life had roots.

She scuffed her boots along the sidewalk, slowing down the closer she got to her destination. Roots, Regina had told her that she needed roots. That seemed like so long ago, back before she knew that Henry's fairytales were true. Back when they were just two women fighting over their son. Like divorced gay moms, she snorted at the thought. Ellen Chaikin eat your heart out. Emma had to admit that she had enjoyed being the fun mom. Sneaking Henry candy and indulging him, hanging out. There hadn't been any actual parenting required. She'd got her first dose of being a mom this morning. Henry was not a morning person, at all. He definitely got that from her. He didn't want to go to school, he wanted to stay home and spend time with her. Then he had whined about the lunch money she'd given him. David always came to get him so they could eat at Granny's. After school they were going to the stable, somewhere she'd never been, so he could go horseback riding, something she'd never done. Then, he had told her, they could go to the big Welcome Home party at Granny's. Then they could finish watching _The Avengers_.

Emma rubbed at the sudden tension in her forehead. No mention of homework or chores. She was still the fun mom. Except she couldn't be the fun mom anymore, not if Henry lived with her. The Kid needed rules and boundaries and whatever else kids needed. He needed a mom that made him do chores and checked his homework. (She still struggled with math) He needed someone who knew how to cook (without breaking the toaster) and liked to clean and never threw red socks in with white shirts. (worst laundry day ever) He needed someone who knew what the hell a PTA was and why it was important (Emma was pretty sure it had something to do with bake sales of some sort) Basically, The Kid needed Regina. Emma sighed, The Evil Queen was a hard act to follow, and she was struggling.

This had been why she had given her son up for adoption in the first place, she knew little to nothing about being a parent. She couldn't give Henry a mansion, she lived in a loft apartment with her parents for God's sake. She was an inexperienced small town Sheriff in a place where freaking dragons lived under the library. Henry's curse had been true, and some days she wished the Kid had just had an overactive imagination. She might have been able to deal with becoming a mother to Henry, or finding her parents or the curse, but all three was a little daunting. Then there was the whole Regina issue. That was a whole other mess. A mess that had been running circles in her head since her shower last night.

She rubbed her chest again unconsciously. She had once demanded to know "How the Hell Regina got like this". This meaning an ice-cold, condescending and to hit the nail on the head, evil, bitch she was. She had gotten her answer in the Enchanted Forest. Cora was a monster, worse then Regina had ever dreamed of being. There was something in the elder Mills witch that put Emma on edge. Her internal lie-detector had gone haywire around Cora. There was something very _wrong _with her. That had been what the hell had happened to Regina, or at least part of it. She had a feeling that there were some important pieces missing from Henry's book.

That didn't mean she was ready to roll over and be Regina's bitch, though. The Evil Queen had plenty to answer for. Like the fact that she had a blood vendetta with Emma's entire family for one. She had also tried to kill Emma. Then there was the fact that she had gone out of her way to intimidate and bully Emma since the moment she had stepped into Storybrooke. Emma sighed at her complicated mess of thoughts. She had arrived, once again, at the carefully manicured front lawn of 108 Mifflin Street. The mansion overlooked the town like, well, a castle. It was appropriate, really, since Regina had spent 28 years toying with the people of Storybrooke like her own real-life version of _The Sims_.

Emma stared at the house, hands shoved in her pockets, and blew out a sigh. There was no time like the present, she supposed. The walkway from the sidewalk to Regina's door was familiar, and full of memories. This had been where she had met the woman for the first time. Regina had run to Henry, dark eyes wide with fear and relief. That night seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago. She jogged up the stairs and paused at the door, she paused with her fist ready to knock.

She was doing this for Henry.

She pounded on the door and waited for the Queen to open the door.

After two minutes she pounded again, annoyed by the woman's childish behavior. "Regina! I know you're in there!" Where else would she be?

She swung her fist again, as the door opened. She missed hitting the body in the doorway by inches.

"Shit!"

The woman at the door was not Regina, which was both a surprise and a relief.

She was tall, Emma put her at least an inch or two taller then Ruby. She had dusky brown skin and dark hair that was streaked through with white. Her clothes were a mish-mash of colors, textures, and styles from several eras and cultures. It was, Emma quickly realized, the woman's eyes that caught and held her attention. They were the most intense green she had ever seen. They were like lasers cutting into her, pinning her to a cardboard square like a bug. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood up and her skin pebbled into goosbumps underneath her jacket.

This had to be the gypsy that everyone had been talking about.

"You're not Regina."

Smooth, Emma wanted to give herself an epic face-palm.

"I am not."

Emma couldn't place the accent, it sounded like nothing she'd ever heard in this or the other world.

"And who are you?"

The question jerked her out of her thoughts and she automatically held out her hand to shake. "I'm Emma-I mean Sheriff Swan. I mean I'm Emma Swan, the Sheriff of Storybrooke. Where's Regina?"

Emma Swan, master of public speaking.

The woman tilted her head to the side, as if considering her answer very carefully.

Emma slid her hand back into her pocket, and squared her shoulders, waiting.

"She is still asleep."

Emma blinked, the woman wasn't lying, but Emma had never thought Regina would sleep so late, it was almost eleven o'clock.

"Would you like to come inside and wait for her?"

Regina would not going to like that, which made Emma say nod her head.

The woman stepped back to make room for Emma to enter the mansion.

"I didn't get your name."

The gypsy woman quirked a scarred lip, "I am Esmeralda."

Emma assumed that it was _just_ Esmeralda, like Cher, Madonna or Beyoncé. Fairytale people were _so_ melodramatic.

They walked through Regina's immaculate house and Emma could tell they were going to the kitchen. Emma knew the way fairly well so she spent her time trying to align the facts in her head. This Esmeralda was a Gypsy, which was a group of people that were pretty unpopular back in the Ye Old Crazy Forest. She was somehow connected to Regina, The Evil Queen. If she were Henry that would be enough to put the woman into the dark and ominous evil category. Maybe she was, maybe she wasn't. Emma was having a hard time getting a reading on the woman. Emma pegged her to be in her late forties, maybe early fifties, but age was sort of relative in Storybrooke. She was tall, slender, and comfortable enough to be barefoot in the Mayor's mansion. She referred to Regina by her first name and answered the woman's door for her.

The kitchen was as clean, white and classy as ever. There was not a single dirty dish in the sink or a glass left on the counter. The room was perfect, like the cover photo of Fancy Ass Kitchen Magazine.

"I would offer you tea." Esmeralda stood by the stove, staring at it, "but I have no idea how to use this _thing_."

Emma tried not to laugh, she really did. The woman looked so flustered, though, that a small chuckle might have escaped her throat before she got herself under control.

"Yeah, Regina would be pissed if you blew up her kitchen."

The woman turned around, black brows arched, "This can happen?"

Emma's smile faded. She really didn't know. This woman was, literally, right off the boat from Fairy Tale Land. She didn't know a microwave from SpongeBob Square Pants.

"How about I make the tea and you can tell me how you wound up in Storybrooke."

Esmeralda smiled and stepped away from the stove, "An interrogation, Sheriff?" Her voice held a touch of humor.

Emma stood up and started to open Regina's meticulously ordered cabinents searching for a kettle, "A conversation. I just recently returned to Storybrooke myself and am just checking up on everything. Mulan and Aurora said you stole away on Hook's ship?"

Third cabinent to the left held the kettle and an honest to God tea set. There was also a silver ball with holes in it.

"What the hell is this thing?"

She mumbled the question to herself more then Esmeralda.

"A diffuser for the tea, bring it too. I have a tea blend with me."

Emma shrugged and grabbed the red, of course, kettle and the silver diffuser-thingy.

"I thought tea came from bags."

Esmeralda let out a distinct snort and then muttered something in a language that Emma didn't understand before adding, "Not any that I will ever drink."

Emma watched, somewhat intrigued, as Esemeralda brought a small cloth bag out of a leather satchel that had been sitting on the kitchen's center island. She watched the woman measure out the spicy mix of leaves and powder while she flipped Regina's stove eye on and sat the full kettle on to heat up. She retrieved two mugs, she was not using Regina's Queen of England tea set, and leaned against the counter.

"So about that boat?"

Esmeralda turned to look at her and sunk her hands into pockets that Emma hadn't even realized were there. It was such a Regina movement, how many times had she seen the woman slide her hands into her blazer pockets? Too many to count. Just who the hell was this woman?

"I knew Cora was coming here, and her portal was the only way that I could come too. I brought the warrior and the princess along because their path was similar to mine." She put the sack full of tea back in the leather satchel, "There are many paths that converge in this town."

Emma rubbed the back of her neck, "That's one way of putting it."

The kettle started to whistle and that brought a pause to the already stilted conversation.

Emma found herself with a white mug full of spiced tea in her hands and allot of questions she didn't know how to ask. Still, she had to ask them before another angry mob showed up on Regina's doorstep.

"So you've known Regina for a long time?"

The gypsy woman smiled behind her steaming cup of tea, "Yes."

Emma fought the urge to roll her eyes. Why had she thought this would be easy?

"And since you _stole away_ on her ship, I assume you know Cora." She wasn't so sure the gypsy had really fooled Cora at all. Cora was smart, ruthless and was an expert manipulator. This could all be one big game.

Esmeralda's face darkened and her jade eyes went flat and cold. Her shoulders stiffened and she lowered her cup. "You will not say that _witch'_s name in this home." Her accent was harsher and her voice was hot with unexpected fury.

Emma's eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. Esmeralda was obviously not a Cora fan.

"Esmeralda?"

Both women turned to the door and Emma almost dropped her tea.

This was not the Regina Mills she knew.

The brunette was wrapped in a purple cloak. It was too long for her and dragged at her feet, like a child wearing a parent's coat. Regina looked tousled, rough around the edges. Her always perfect hair was tangled and sticking to makeup-up smeared cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy underneath streaks of black eyeliner and mascara. Underneath the cloak she was wearing the same clothes as she had been yesterday. They were wrinkled and Emma would swear that the other woman's blue shirt was ripped and missing buttons. Her feet were bare on the hardwood floor and Emma blinked in shock when she saw the Evil Queen had painted her toe nails bright electric blue.

"You made tea? I thought I heard voi-"

Regina turned the corner fully and stopped mid-word. The change was immediate, Regina drew herself up into the stiff, military perfect, posture she maintained as mayor. Her face lost all its softness, all emotion quickly dropped away. Her mouth twisted into a sour scowl.

"Miss Swan."

Even her voice, warm and content when she thought she had been talking to Esmeralda, now had an all too familiar rigidness to it. The warmth was replaced by ice.

Emma opened her mouth to speak, but was beaten to the proverbial punch by Esmeralda.

"Sit."

Emma watched, amazed, as the older woman put a hand on Regina's shoulders and sat her on one of the chairs around the table. Regina didn't even protest beyond scowling.

A third ceramic white mug full of tea was immediately placed in front of the seething brunette.

"Do you still take milk with your tea, Little One?"

Emma smirked as red started to tinge Regina's cheeks. Little One? Oh this was just too good.

If looks could kill, then Emma would be dead because Regina was glaring daggers at her.

"It's in the fridge-"At Esmeralda's blank look, Emma put her cup on the counter and walked to the refrigerator. She opened it up and chuckled at Esmeralda's gasp. If she was so impressed with the fridge, just wait until she used a toilet. A carton of half-and-half was sitting on a surprisingly bare shelf. She had always pegged Regina for one of those stock-the-pantry Moms, but whatever worked. Emma snagged it and grinned.

Regina was, apparently, on her best behavior with Esmeralda. She opened the crème and tilted the carton over Regina's mug. She even winked at the brunette. "Say when."

She poured the crème into the ex-mayor's tea with a smirk on her face. Regina held her cup so tightly that her knuckles were blanched white.

"When."

Emma stopped pouring and put the lid back on the crème. "You're welcome."

Regina only glared at her.

"_Regina_."

It was the same warning-tone that Emma had heard Regina use with Henry, firm but not unkind.

"Thank you, Miss Swan."

Apparently satisfied with Regina's all but growled response, Esmeralda pulled the chair beside Regina's out and sat in it. Emma followed suit and sat across from Regina. Regina glared across the table at her. Then she lifted her mug and took a sip of her tea. For a moment, Emma watched with awe, the stress dropped from her face and a small smile shot across the brunette's face.

"Miss Swan" Great, now Esmeralda was going to call her that too, "was just here to introduce herself."

Emma shrugged, "I thought I should come check on the Mayor. I heard reports that you collapsed yesterday and Henry was worried."

Regina's eyes lit up at the mention of her son. "He was worried about me?"

"I have heard much about Little Henry, but have yet to see him. Where is he?"

The spark in Regina's eyes retreated as quickly as it had arrived. Esmeralda's honest question had unintentionally opened up a massive can of worms. Emma shifted in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable, "He's, uh, living with me and my parents. It's complicated."

Esmeralda raised an eyebrow, a perfect imitation of the brow raise she had seen Regina do a million times.

"Miss Swan is Henry's birth-mother." Regina's voice was that of Mayor Mills: cool, crisp and clipped.

The table went quiet after that. It was not a comfortable silence, Emma stared at her tea, and wished it had some kind of magical answer. It was delicious, but offered no help.

"So I just came to make sure you were okay, and you are, so that's good."

She looked up in time to see Regina nod her head stiffly. God, why did this have to be so damn awkward?

"Between sucking up magic spells and wraith attacks you've been busy, huh."

She had meant it as a joke. A ha-ha funny joke to cut the tension.

"A wraith?"

Esmeralda's voice sounded strangled and it shook with something that sounded like terror. She dropped her cup on the table and paid no attention to the fact that it landed on its side. Tea spilled out in a puddle across the clean table and neither Esmeralda nor Regina paid it any attention. The dusky-skinned woman grabbed both of Regina's hands and flipped them over to look at the ex-mayor's palms. She was looking, Emma knew, for the strange and painful-looking Asian mark that had been burnt into Regina's hand.

"It's okay." Regina's voice was soft again, and Emma blinked at the change. She had only heard this softness enter the Evil Queen's voice when she spoke to or about Henry. "I'm okay. Nan, I'm fine."

Nan? Emma blinked, she knew Cora was Regina's mother and Esmeralda didn't look nearly old enough to be her mother. There was more to this situation then she was seeing.

"Miss Swan" Regina paused and pursed her lips tightly, like she had just sucked on a lemon, "stopped the wraith."

Esmeralda had yet to let Regina's hands go, but she turned her head to stare at Emma. "You saved her?"

Emma shrugged, "It's kind of my thing. Besides from what Henry told me, Regina saved me right back yesterday."

Esmeralda's face was unreadable and Regina's was calm and carefully emotionless.

"So anyway, we're having this Welcome Home slash Welcome to Storybrooke Party at Granny's tonight, and you guys should come. I mean you can see Henry and everyone can meet Esmeralda and it would be good."

She had to get out of this weird, uncomfortable and frankly strange, situation. It felt like she was interrupting Regina's reunion with whoever Esmeralda was to her. This whole thing had been a bad idea. She wasn't sure why she'd invited them to the party. It had just popped out of her mouth without her thinking about it first. Not to mention that her moth-Mary Marg-Snow. Snow. Snow and David would not like this impromptu addition to the guest list. Then again, since Regina hadn't answered yet, it probably wouldn't be an issue. Why would the Queen lower herself to schlep around with the common folk of Storybrooke?

"Should I bring anything?"

Emma blinked, shocked at Regina's quiet question. She was really going to come?

"Ah"

Hadn't Ruby said it would be pot-luck? She was pretty sure she had. "Just bring whatever Henry would like best."

She stood up, "So I will see you guys tonight about eight?" Suddenly she didn't regret the invitation.

Regina nodded silently, and for Emma couldn't help but wonder what exactly what was going through the woman's head.

"Thanks for the tea."

She left the two women in the kitchen and let herself out of Regina's house without another word. She made it a block before shoving her hands though her blonde hair, frustrated and confused. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

It was 11:40, only a few minutes left before the lunch rush. It had been a red-letter morning at Granny's. Ruby would never get tired of seeing families reunited. There had been so many reconnections since the curse broke. Fathers and daughters, Jefferson and his little girl; brothers, the dwarves; and of course husbands and wives. All she had was Granny, and they hadn't been separated during the big, bad, evil curse. Watching everyone else find each other, though, that was great.

The only down side to Steve and Lia, Stephen and Leah she corrected herself, finding their long-lost daughter again was that Aurora's guard dog had suddenly found herself at loose ends. The Chinese woman was sitting in the same place she had been in all morning. She was staring out the window, working on what had to be her fifth cup of coffee. Her pancakes hadn't been touched since Aurora had left and Ruby had whisked the plate of cold food away at least an hour ago. The happy parents had whisked their daughter off and had barely spared a glance for the woman who had protected her for so long.

It was harsh, but that was how the nobility treated commoners. Some things, Ruby scowled, should have stayed in the Enchanted Forest. She didn't really know what to say to the woman. It had to be hard to watch the only person in the entire world that you knew walk away. Especially if you had sworn an oath to protect them. Ruby wrinkled her nose as she absent-mindedly wiped the counter with a cloth. Aurora was obviously in good hands, her parents were thrilled to have her back. They would help her adjust to her new reality in Storybrooke. She was back to being a pampered princess. What was Mulan supposed to do? There weren't many openings for wandering warriors in Storybrooke.

The bells above the door jingled but Ruby didn't bother to look up. It was 11:44, she had no doubt who had entered. Ruby recognized her scent immediately: musty books, floor polish, peaches and sunshine. Belle always came in at a quarter till noon for a glass of tea and a sandwich. She would sit at the counter and they would talk. Ruby had tried to convince herself that it wasn't the highlight of her day, and had failed miserably at it so far. She reached for the glass of tea, with lemon, that she had just poured and looked up, ready to see Belle's smile.

"Mulan?"

Belle was smiling, but not at her.

The brunette, dressed in the black dress with an adorably high collar and red stripes, was staring at Storybrooke's newest arrival.

"Belle."

Mulan smile was small, but genuine and when she stood up, Belle immediately rushed to hug her.

Ruby's fist clenched around the rag and the wolf buried deep inside her growled.

Next: The Party at Granny's


	8. Chapter VII: Party Time

Author's Note: The party scene ended up running longer than I imagined so it has been separated into two chapters. I was pleasantly surprised to find that everyone really enjoyed Ruby and I assure you that everyone's favorite waitress/werewolf has plenty of screen-time in this story.

This chapter takes place during "The Cricket Game".

Additionally I would like to thank everyone who has been reading this story. I'm really overwhelmed by the sheer number of followers and reviews. The support and kind words have really made a difference and only encourage me to write better, faster and stronger chapters. So special thanks to:

DarkShadow-lord, Marynesq, JPElles, .OOm Kapuis, aryousavvy, sassaricando, MuffinRamsey, Immi, Transylvanian, HarleyQuinnDavidson, Chikiko and of course my mysterious Guest Reviewers.

Chapter VII

Party Time

It was meat-loaf day. Henry hated meat-loaf, well the school's meat-loaf at least. His mom's was so much better. Regina, he mentally corrected himself. He had been right all along, she was the Evil Queen and he had helped defeat her. Now he got to live with his real mom, the Savior, and his grandparents, Snow White and Prince Charming. They were a real family. Still, though, he couldn't help but worry a little bit about Regina. Aurora had said she had collapsed in the middle of the road. That didn't sound very Evil Queen like. It didn't sound very much like Regina at all. She was never sick, except that one time he gave her chicken pox.

Magic always came with a price, he thought as he picked at the meatloaf with his fork. What about sucking up magic? Did that come with a price too? He didn't know. There was still allot he didn't know about magic. It had looked like it hurt. He hadn't even checked to see if she was okay. She had fallen down, but he had been so worried then excited about Emma and Snow that he hadn't bothered to ask if she was okay. He didn't like the squirmy feeling he got in his stomach when he thought about it. Why should he feel guilty? Emma was his mother and Regina was the Evil Queen. Of course she was okay, it had only been a little magic. The Evil Queen had faced armies and lived to cast her curse. She had been able to go with them back to Mr. Gold's shop and had even hugged him. She was fine, and even if she wasn't, didn't she deserve to hurt? She was evil and evil never won. Evil had to be punished. Was this The Evil Queen's punishment or another trick? Either way, Emma would tell him after school.

Then he could put it out of his mind and focus on important things, like prince lessons and horseback riding and Operation Hydra. Operation Hydra was his new plan to find out about the new people in Storybrooke. Mulan, Aurora, Hook, Cora and the Gypsy weren't in his book. Since Hook, Cora and The Gypsy were all evil he had decided to name the operation Hydra after the evil cult in _Capitan America_. He thought about the blank journal he had in his classroom desk, just waiting for his notes. He had some ideas already. Aurora was Sleeping Beauty, but where, he wondered, was Prince Phillip? And how did Mulan fit in to the picture? She was Chinese, like in the Disney movie, so what had she even been doing in the Enchanted Forest? He looked around the school lunch room. Most of the kids were white and so were their parents. Not all, but most. Diversity Week was a real riot at Storybrooke Academy. Now there was a Chinese and a Gypsy woman in town. He hadn't done an official count, because he'd never really thought about it before now, but that made at least three African American families and one Middle Eastern guy, Sidney Glass was the Genie in the mirror after all. He paused over his mashed potatoes and well, technically, he thought Regina might be Latina, but it had never really come up. How Latina could someone with the last name of Mills be?

Then there was Cora, Regina's mother. She had never mentioned having a mother. He knew that she had to have had a mother, even Evil Queens didn't hatch from eggs, but all Regina had ever talked about was her father, Henry Senior. The man he was named after, the man whose grave Regina took flowers to every week. Of course that was probably a ruse so she could visit her evil lair underneath his tomb. Henry sighed and willed the clock to go faster so lunch would end and recess could begin. No one really talked to him allot. They used to think he was the weird mayor's kid. Now he was a Prince, son of the Savior and The Evil Queen. Half of his classmates treated him like royalty and other half didn't talk to him at all. He didn't mind, for the most part, he liked talking to adults more anyway. He would be the only kid at the party tonight. The big, important, party to welcome his mom and grandma back. It would be the perfect time to get some information on Operation Hydra.

* * *

Mary Margret, or Snow White as she had been known in the Enchanted Forest, watched the youthful faces of the young students of Storybrooke Academy flood onto the playground. They frolicked with all the passion and energy of the young. It brought a smile to her face. One of the children, a boy, predictably ran right to her.

"Hi Grams!"

Henry, of course.

She smiled at him and reached over the chain-link fence to ruffle his hair affectionately, "Hello, Henry."

The young boy bounced from foot to foot, "Are you excited about tonight?"

She blinked, and then understood when he added, "Your party."

She grinned, "Absolutely. I'll see you then, you should go and play before you have to go back in."

He ran off and she leaned against the fence, pleased to see her grandson so happy.

"He's a sweet boy."

Mary Margret turned to see Lia Weathersby. The woman walked like the queen she really was and like the queen she was, Mary Margret nodded her head in greeting.

"Leah."

The woman, clad in a peach skirt and ruffled white top stood beside her and folded her arms across her chest. Leah was a handful of years older then she by a few years in Storybrooke time. In all their years in both realms combined, Leah was closer to her late mother's age then her own.

"Will you come back to teach now that everything has changed?"

Caught off guard, Mary Margret only shrugged, "I truly don't know."

Lia crossed her arms over her chest, "Well it is quite a step down, from Queen to school teacher with nothing in between. Regina really handed it to you with that."

At the mention of the Evil Queen's name, Mary Margret scowled, "You could say that."

She didn't know Lia, or Leah, very well at all, but there was something in the way she stood. The woman was trying to lord over her. Yes, the woman had been a Queen, but Snow had fought a war for her kingdom. She had fallen from grace and clawed her way back up to the throne. Leah didn't understand how hard fought her rule had been. She didn't understand her at all if she thought she would back down. She wasn't _just_ Mary Margret anymore, and she wasn't afraid of the woman who had been her boss. She was Snow White.

"So your daughter is in Storybrooke now. Reconnecting with her must be amazing, trust me I know what being separated from your daughter feels like." Truer words, Mary Margret sighed, had never been spoken. She had missed her daughter. Even when she hadn't known where she was or that she was even missing, there had been an emptiness inside that could only be filled by her child.

"Aurora's return is a blessing especially now. Everything is changing so fast. Who knows what will happen next, it's important to hold your family close."

Snow turned her head ever so slightly, "I don't think _everything_ has to change."

Leah's blue eyes met hers, "_You _wouldn't."

The conversation had shifted. This was not about her teaching job anymore. This was something far larger.

"I think." She drew herself up to her full height and turned to face Leah. "That you should be more concerned about _your daughter_ then changes in Storybrooke."

Leah's face instantly hardened, "Is that a _threat_?"

Snow smiled and reached out to pat Leah on the arm, "Of course not." She didn't react to Leah pulling her arm away, "I'll see you at the party tonight."

Leah didn't watch the woman walk away, she instead focused on the playground.

Had she bothered to look she would have seen wisps of violet smoke float around the corner Snow White had just walked around.

* * *

It was a quarter after eight and the party was in full-swing. Granny's Diner was full of the people she had missed most when she and Snow had been stranded in Fairy Tale Forest. Everyone, save for Henry, Belle and Mulan, had a stein of beer in their hand. Everyone was smiling, even the ever-sour Granny Lucas. Emma glanced at the door again, still no Regina and Esmeralda. She wasn't sure if she was annoyed or relieved. Maybe both? She was annoyed because she had gone out on a limb and invited them, the least they could do was show up. She was relieved because their presence would have made everything, and everyone, tense. She sank her hands into the oversized cardigan she had borrowed from Mary Margret's closet. Oh yes, she was relieved, Emma decided. She definitely wasn't disappointed. Nope, not her. The sound of Henry's laughter, such a light-hearted and infectious sound, floated through the room. She should tell Leroy to take it easy with the dirty jokes around her son, but they were having so much fun that she couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

Everyone, she grinned, was having fun. Even Mulan had apparently taken the stick out and relaxed a little. From the gist of the conversations she'd overheard Mulan and Belle had known each other back in the Enchanted Forest and their friendship had picked up right where it had left off. Belle had even convinced the woman to go shopping. Mulan looked different out of her armor, more approachable somehow. If she didn't have her sword with her, she wouldn't have been sure it was the same woman. It was amazing what a pair of faded black jeans and a white tee-shirt could do. Not that Mulan was the only one who had changed her clothes. Aurora had arrived with her newly-rediscovered parents dressed like someone who had stepped out of an E! Fashion Special. The pale blue sundress reached her knees and brought out her eyes. With her hair done in a soft waves that tumbled down her back Emma could mistake her for a super model instead of a long-lost princess. So weird.

Speaking of weird, Mary Margret, Snow, was dressed in head-to-toe red and was totally rocking it. Except the fact that she was her mother, which made the whole thing freaking bizarre. Her mother, a fairytale princess or queen or whatever, was practically the same age as she was _and_ she looked better in a dress. Despite the confusing family connections and the new faces, the party made her feel at ease. She was home and this was her normal. When David called for a toast she couldn't help but smile and raise her glass. This was exactly what she had been looking for her entire life. Home, family, friends, stability, love.

The laughter and tinkling glasses almost drowned out the chime of the bell at the door. Emma turned just in time to see Regina duck into the diner with a smile on her face, "Sorry we're late." The brunette had a dish that smelled about fifty-five times better than her yet-to-be-touched tacos in her hands. Esmeralda was close behind her empty-handed but smiling.

There was a moment of shocked silence in the diner and Emma started to wish that she had kept her big mouth shut.

"What is_ she_ doing here?"

Leroy, always eloquent, grabbed the biggest knife he could find. Though his was the most noticeable reaction, everyone seemed to go tense. Damn it, this had been exactly what she had been afraid of. Emma's grip on her stein tightened. She just wanted one nice night.

"I invited her." Her words were snappier then she meant, but the Leroy was holding a knife and the rest of the group seemed only moments away from following suit.

"She brought the gypsy woman with her."

Mulan, who drank coffee despite the late hour, leveled her gaze at Esmeralda. She didn't seem upset, or even surprised. The warrior woman's face betrayed nothing. It was surprising, actually, to see her sitting in a booth with Belle while Aurora was at the counter with her parents. Emma had never seen so much space between the two women.

"Warrior." Esmeralda dipped her head towards Mulan and then turned to Aurora, "Princess."

Emma held back a sneer when Steven physically stepped in front of Aurora, as if to protect her from an impending attack. The look on his bearded face was sharp and a little on the angry side. Fairy tale racism at its finest, apparently.

Regina, seemingly undisturbed by the chaos that had erupted at their arrival, eased through the small crowd and put her dish, Emma's mouth positively watered at the Food Network-worthy lasagna, on the counter. When her hands were free she unconsciously ran a hand through her once again perfectly styled hair. Gone was the woman Emma had seen earlier, Regina was back to her sharply-dressed-to-impress mayor self.

"Yes, this is-"

"Esmeralda." Granny interrupted Regina with a single word and the room did a collective double take. Even Regina, unshakable mayoral mask in place, raised a surprised brow at the announcement.

"Our paths cross again, Widow Lucas." Esmeralda quirked her scared lips into a small smile. Unlike her other recent arrivals, Esmeralda had not changed her clothes. She was still dressed in a motley assortment of clothes, including the purple cloak that Regina had been wrapped in just that morning. Something, Emma would call it curiosity, burned in her brain. Just what was the situation between the former queen and the gypsy?

Ruby, meanwhile, choked on her beer, "You _know_ her?" She looked between the gypsy and her grandmother.

Granny shrugged, obviously uncomfortable with the situation. If Esmeralda was bothered by the multiple intense stares she made no indication of it.

"Your granddaughter?" Apparently she did know Granny and Ruby.

Granny nodded and Esmeralda flicked her green eyes over Ruby. "She has her mother in her."

Belle, who had quickly moved across the room, stood beside Ruby, blue eyes narrowed. Her usually kind face was set in a hard expression. She looked defensive, ready to protect Ruby. If the idea of the mild-mannered librarian protecting the town's resident badass werewolf wasn't so ludicrous, Emma would have been concerned. Belle put a hand on Ruby's bare shoulder and Emma could see the taller brunette's taut muscles relax a little.

"How" Snow wrapped her arm around Ruby's waist, "do _you_ know Ruby's mother?" There was some kind of story behind all of this, Emma could sense it. It was probably another one of those fairy tale things, she really needed to read through Henry's book again. It was like the Wikipedia of the Enchanted Forest and she could definitely use the help.

Emma was almost 90 percent sure that Esmeralda rolled her eyes at the question. "The Romani and the Children of the Moon are old allies. This is known."

Everyone, including Ruby, looked shocked at that. For once, Emma felt a little relieved, she wasn't the only one in the dark about something. Even Snow seemed taken-back by her statement. The only people who didn't look surprised were Esmeralda, Granny and Regina.

"She was the one who made your cloak."

There was only one cloak that Granny could be referring to. The classic red riding hood magic cloak that kept Ruby from turning into a werewolf every month. Emma wanted to groan when she realized what that meant. Storybrooke needed another mysterious magic maven like it needed a hurricane.

Regina, momentarily forgotten by most, had mouthed along to Esmeralda's last sentence as if she had heard it countless times. Emma watched her for a moment, trying to decide what the woman's angle was. For once, she didn't seem to have an ulterior motive. Which was confusing because Regina always had something going on behind the scenes. She wasn't a two-bit player, she had back up plans for her back up plans and at least three layers of bullshit between her actions and their true intentions. Maybe it was Esmeralda's magic. If the other woman was also a witch maybe they were forming some kind of crazy coven. That had to be it, Regina and magic. Now that made sense.

Henry, unconcerned by the tension in the room, walked up to Regina and peeked at the lasagna she was cutting into manageable pieces.

"How do you know her?"

His question was met with another small smile, and Emma was pretty sure she had never seen Regina smile quite so much. Then again, she was always less reserved around Henry. Her face always softened and her body language relaxed unconsciously. If there was anyone in the world who could cut through Regina's bullshit it was Henry.

"Esmeralda took care of me when I was a little girl. I haven't seen her in many years."

Oh. Emma realized, that made sense. She had been Regina's nanny. The Mary Poppins to her Jane Banks. Wait, was there a real Mary Poppins? Emma shook her head to clear it. One nagging question wouldn't go away, though. If Esmeralda cared enough about Regina to find her now, where the hell had she been while The Evil Queen had been being well, evil? Why come back now? Furthermore what kind of woman would leave a child alone with Cora?

"Is she evil like you?"

Henry's question stopped Emma's thoughts cold. She opened her mouth to reprimand him, but was beaten to the punch by Regina.

"Henry!"

There wasn't anger in the other woman's voice, though. Not even a firm parental tone. She was shocked and hurt and it showed. How many times had Henry told Regina she was evil? Too many to count, probably.

"Esmeralda is not evil."

Her voice was emphatic and left no room for argument. Emma couldn't help but notice that she said nothing in her own defense. Had Henry called her evil enough times that she didn't even deny it anymore?

"So what's the secret ingredient in this, poison?"

Leroy's jab, and it was definitely meant to be mean-spirited, broke the tension. It allowed the status quo, as messed up as it was, to be re-established.

"Red pepper flakes-gives it a little kick."

Regina had recovered, and her tone had reverted to normal. It dripped with sarcasm and regal disdain, just like everyone expected. Leroy huffed, but took his portion of lasagna with no further complaint.

Henry and Regina distributed the food with no further words, mother and son working together in a quiet cooperation born of years of practice. When the food was distributed Henry took his plate, that had an suspiciously large slab of lasagna on it, and sat back with Leroy and the dwarves without another glance at his mother. Conversations started up again. Archie made his way over to Esmeralda to talk. Aurora and Mulan were talking to Aurora's parents. Aurora's smile could light up a room, but Mulan looked as stiff as she had ever been. Belle, dressed in a red skirt and a flowing white shirt, was still beside Ruby, her hand had drifted down to the crook of the other woman's elbow. Ruby, lean and mean in solid black, was obviously having a serious conversation with her grandmother. . Everyone was having a good time. Emma finished her plate, and shot a quick glance over at the counter but was disappointed to find that there was no lasagna left-only tacos. She had to figure out how she could convince Regina to make some more of that. She turned to the booth that Regina had been sitting at by herself, but found it empty. She turned around and caught a slender form in a black coat silently sliding out the door.

Emma looked around and found Henry listening to David and Esmeralda was with Granny behind the counter where the older woman was explaining the new-fangled invention of the modern stove. No one had noticed that Regina had left, or if they had they said nothing.

Damn it. She put her beer down and set off after the wayward ex-mayor.

AN2: More party "fun" in the next chapter. Also, yes, Snow was Cora'd. I always thought the show could have done so much more with Cora. Updates may slow down for a while. Finals are coming up and let's just say if I don't ace my Spanish final my goose is cooked.


	9. Chapter VIII: On The Outside Looking In

Author's Note: This is Part 2 of 3 of my reinterpretation of the party at Granny's Diner from "The Cricket Game" I am an Evil Regal at heart and Regina sort of took this chapter by storm. There's one more piece to go and it's going to be a doozy. Leave it to me to turn five minutes of an episode into an epic.

You guys totally rock. Thanks for all the follows, reviews, and especially the well-wishes for my finals (which are now looming closer than ever and will require my undivided attention very soon) You guys have really made my muses stand up and sing!

Chapter VIII

On The Outside Looking In

_The dancers, in their opulent ball gowns and tailored trim tailcoats glided across the marble floor of the Grand Ballroom with the grace and ease that came from years of lessons and practice. The music, upbeat and cheerful, stirred her soul. She did so love music. Queen Regina also loved dancing but it would be uncivilized and therefore silently forbidden, to ask the Queen to dance before the King did so, and Leopold only danced with his daughter. He was too old, too tired, and too busy with other matters to dance, unless Snow asked it of him. He denied his precious daughter nothing._

_So she watched the others dance with an impassive face, a polite and socially acceptable mask for the masses. A Queen couldn't appear to be bored at a ball. The dancers swirled in perfect synchronization and she could hear laughter mixing with the music. High, childlike laughter-Snow's laughter. She clenched her gloved hands into fists, but the bite of bitter anger was momentary and faded quickly. She was so tired now. She couldn't even remember the last time she had laughed. No, she could, it had been three years, two months and twelve days since Daniel had died in her arms. Three years, two month and twelve days since she had last known any kind of happiness. She stared across the room at Snow dancing with Leopold. The little girl in a lacey and ruffled white dress with blue ribbons, she was the one who had caused this. She was the root of Regina's unhappiness and She. Would. Pay._

_A servant passed by her with a tray of drinks and she held out her empty goblet without a word. The young man filled her cup with the dark red spiced wine that she preferred before slipping away with a small bow. The wine was delicious and the burn of alcohol in her throat grounded her once again. It calmed her darker impulses, for a moment at least. She could feel the vein her forehead recede and some of the tension in her body eased. She let her eyes close, so she didn't have to look at the happy party-goers that swirled around her, and took another long drink. The players finished their song and the room gave them and the dancers polite applause, but Regina didn't bother. She remained perfectly still and savored the taste of sweet wine and bitter hatred on her tongue._

_The players started a new song, one of the fast jigs she had loved so much as a child, and she took another pull of the wine. Her goblet would be empty soon, but there was always another servant somewhere with a refill and no questions asked. It was one of the perks of being Queen._

"_Aren't they precious?"_

_Regina's eyes snapped open. Queen Leah, one of their guests of honor, was a royal vision in rose-hued silk that had been embroidered with delicate gold. She smiled, a cold and humorless expression- a queen's polite political smile. Regina met the expression with her own royal smile and then followed Leah's eye line. Snow and Aurora, Leah's and Stephen's young princess, were twirling around on the floor together. Snow was leading the younger girl through the complicated steps with a grin on her fourteen year old face. They were two happy, giggling, little princesses without a care in the world. The anger that always bubbled in her stomach rose once more and it took the rest of the wine in her goblet to calm it so she could speak._

"_Were we ever that young?"_

_Of course they had been. Mother had forced her to attend every cotillion, Yule Ball and every social event in the Kingdom. The better to catch a Prince's wandering eye, Mother had always said. She and Leah had danced at the same balls, dined at the same feasts and moved in the same circles, but they had never and would never be friends. Regina had no friends._

"_I was but you've always been so serious, Regina."_

_It was hard to frolic, Regina reflected with only a hint of bitterness in her heart, when you had a mother who reacted to the smallest or even imagined social faux-paux with harsh punishment._

"_She favors you, Little Aurora, I mean."_

_She didn't want to talk about the past anymore._

_Leah smiled, and for a moment it even looked genuine, and pushed one of her dainty brown curls behind the shell of her gold and diamond tiara, "She is the light of my life."_

_The two queens fell silent for a moment and Regina fervently wished she had more wine._

"_And look at Snow. She favors the Queen, Eva I mean."_

_The dig was anything but subtle, but Regina refused to let it affect her. It was not the first time she had heard about how much Snow looked like her dead mother. Didn't Leopold mention it every day? Didn't she know that she held no candle to the beloved Eva? _

"_Speaking of mothers," Eva smiled again, "when are you going to present Leopold with an heir?"_

_Regina was saved from answering by a small bundle of bright pink satin and lace. _

"_Mommy!" The girl with big blue eyes and a missing front tooth ran towards Leah. "Did you see me?! Snow and I were dancing!" Leah bent over and hugged her daughter, laughing as she answered the girl's excited questions_

_The eruption of corrosive anger in Regina's chest was almost physically painful. She caught sight of Snow working her way through the crowd of adults, towards her. Looking for the kind step-mother everyone expected her to be. She couldn't do it. She would hug the girl until her ribs cracked and her lungs were devoid of air. Then Snow turned and ran to her father and relief almost eclipsed the anger in her. No one was paying her any attention now, so it was easy to turn on her heel and left the ballroom. She spared one last glance across the room at her husband. He was deep in conversation with King Stephen and even deeper in his ale. So deep in his ale that he would not be able to stumble his way to her chambers tonight. Thank the spirits. _

_She abandoned her goblet, it was useless to her without wine in it. She dropped it to the floor negligently and smirked when she heard the crystal shatter on the flagstone floor. _

_The music faded behind her, and by the time she reached the courtyard, and her tree, the stink of perfume and heat of too many bodies shoved into a small space had dissipated. She hated these social farces. They were nothing but pompous shows of riches and so-called political power. If they only knew what real power looked like they would tremble at her feet._

_Rage rose in her again and she crossed the courtyard to her tree. Her dress, deep blue with silver and sapphire embroidery, was too thin to be truly comfortable in the chilly breeze but she could not fathom going back inside. Not right now. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the silhouette of the moon through the branches of her Honey Crisp tree. The tree that Esmeralda and her father had planted for her when she was just a baby. The tree had been one of her few demands when she had been forced to move to the Royal Palace, her gilded cage. She would not be without this last precious piece of happier days. This was the tree that she and Esmeralda had danced under. It was where her father had read to her. It was beneath this tree that she had first kissed Daniel. She would go mad without it._

"_They're positively nauseating, aren't they?_

_Regina turned sharply, gasp stuck in her chest. No one from the Ball should have wandered this far away. Then she saw who was speaking to her and knew that they had not been in the Grand Ballroom. Her elaborate dress and jacket was a deep purple, dark enough to look black in the dim courtyard. It was a pretty enough dress, but it was too wild and too wantonly cut to have been at the ball. The woman's blonde hair was a wild mane of curls and there was a twisted smirk on her face. She didn't know this woman, but the aura of power that all but crackled around her piqued Regina's interest._

_She moved closer, staff in hand, "Stephen and Leah like to think they are powerful politicos." The blonde let out a bark of sarcastic laughter, "As if they know what true power is." She chuckled, "Let me guess what's going on in there." She leaned casually on her elaborate staff, "Stephen is schmoozing Leopold, and greasing him up like a country pig. Seeking favor and power like a suckling leach. They're drinking their weight in ale and comparing the size of the cocks and armies." She let out a bitter chuckle, "And Leah is floating around like a glittering fairy-queen. Buttering people up and then cutting them down with that bitchy tongue of hers. A picture perfect queen without a drop of empathy in her entire silk-clad being. Honestly the two of them could drive a woman to homicide. Oh wait-" She grinned a little manically, "they already did."_

_Regina pulled herself up to her full height and squared her shoulders. "Who the hell are you and what the hell do you think you're doing?" And why did she find herself drawn to the obviously unbalanced woman?_

_The blonde reached up and ran her fingers across one of the low-hanging almost ripe apples over their heads. "I'm someone like you, Your Majesty." _

_Regina blinked, "I have no idea what you're talking about." The lie flowed so smoothly across her tongue that she almost believed it herself._

_The blonde's laughter, high and eerie, echoed though the courtyard. "Dear, we are far too powerful to play games like this." She stepped closer, invading Regina's private space. She was a few inches taller than Regina and her elaborate hair only added to her height. One purple-tinted fingernail slid down Regina's arm, "Your mother was powerful, but you have the potential to be so much more than a scheming step mother and wicked queen. You could be truly great."_

_Adrenaline and magic pumped through Regina's blood. "Who are you?" Her voice was low, raspy and held a touch of danger. Fire leapt to her fingertips. This was her newest skill, something that brought a smirk to her face. Toying with the elements of life itself was an intoxicating power and fire had always called to her._

"_So eager."_

_A slender hand wrapped around her wrist, "So much power. I could use a friend like you."_

"_A friend?" Regina raised a single brow, "I am a Queen. I do not have friends, only subjects."_

_The woman hadn't let go of her wrist, despite the fire burning in her palm. _

"_But there's so much I could teach you and that you could teach me." She waved her free hand almost lazily, the air around them rippled and the fire in Regina's hand extinguished. The blonde leaned closer and when she spoke Regina could feel her glossy pink lips brush against her cheek, "You hate Leopold and his little Snow Flake as much as I hate Leah and her brat. We can dance in their blood together-celebrate our victories together. It never hurts to have at least one friend in this world, Your Majesty. Especially one as powerful as me."_

_Regina tilted her head ever so slightly, she was intrigued. _

"_Well, I don't make friends stand out in the cold to talk. We should go to my chambers, have a glass of wine and talk about this further…"_

_She trailed off because she had no idea what the woman's name was. She knew that she smelled of Bella Donna and vanilla, and intoxicating and deadly combonation of scents, but not her name. _

_Blonde curls tickled the tasteful amount of cleavage she showed and hot breathe caressed her ear, _

"_I'm Maleficent."_

_She had heard of the woman, the sorceress who lived in a forbidden forest fortress. She was rumored to be very powerful and even more vindictive. _

"_I'm sure you are."_

_She turned, but did not move away yet, "Come, we have much to discuss." She let her voice drop an octave and it purred out of her throat like silk, "My friend."_

Things never changed, Regina mused as she watched the party around her. Another celebration that she was expected to observe, but not partake in. She was, as she had always been, decoration. Once she had been Leopold's Queen, a pretty bauble like a ruby pendant: he could make his rounds with her on his arm glittering and bright and then cast her off without a second thought. No one paid attention to her when Leopold was otherwise occupied. She was inconsequential, a second rate queen whose existence was eclipsed by their beloved princes. Snow White held court in the diner just as she always had in her father's castle. Everyone flocked to her and her perfect family, even her own son. Regina was now The Evil Queen and she was there on the Savior's whim. An inconvenience to be suffered through to make their prophesized princess happy. Then when the Savior was bored with her, when Henry didn't care to see her anymore, she would be tossed away if she was lucky and executed for her many crimes if she was not.

Until then, though, she was in a strange limbo existence, tolerated but only barely. She had been here before, and had survived, she could do it again. Regina didn't need them or their party. She never had. So she left, just as she had walked out of countless feasts and balls. No one would miss her, they never did. Well, Esmeralda would, of course, but she didn't want to pull the other woman away from her conversation.

She wrapped her arms around herself and stared out at Storybrooke's empty streets. She was alone, always. So be it, Regina sighed and tilted her head back to stare at the stars. They were the exact same stars that she had learned to navigate by as a child. The stars, Esmeralda had told her, were the same in all realms. It was a small comfort, she supposed, that she had been able to teach Henry the stars and constellations the same way Esmeralda and Daddy had taught her. Under the endless blanket of stars she felt small and inconsequential. Not a Queen, not a Mayor, she was just one woman fighting for a little boy who didn't even love her.

"Archie made a cake."

She turned around and was annoyed to hear a gasp slip out of her throat.

"Miss Swan."

Her voice was flat, even to her own ears. She hadn't expected anyone to follow her. She couldn't allow anyone to see her being less then regal. She would not allow anyone, especially Emma Swan, to think her weak. Her strength, her façade was all she had left. Everything else had been stripped away from her, even her son.

"You don't want to stay for a piece?"

Walk back into the diner with her tail tucked between her legs, following yet another beloved princess like a puppy? Absolutely not. She had lost many things but not her pride, never that.

"I'm fine, thank you." Gone was the snap in her voice, the sarcasm, the self-assured tone that told people she was a queen and should be respected and feared. She didn't feel like a queen right now, not even Mayor. She was just happy that she'd got to see her son, if only for a few minutes. Whether she liked it or not, and she didn't, Emma Swan had been the one to invite her. Emma Swan, who was headed back to her party.

"Thank you." The words felt foreign on her tongue, like a dead language that she struggled to read.

Miss Swan turned around and stepped back towards her, "You just said that."

"For inviting me-us."

It was a mark of her monumental effort to change, to control her darkness that she was thanking the woman who had destroyed her life and taken her son.

"Henry liked it, and I know you would want Esmeralda to meet The Kid. I'm glad you guys got to spend some time together."

Some time, such a small amount of time with her little boy. A scant half hour with Henry, the baby she had sung to sleep, the toddler she had taught to walk, the sweet boy she tucked in every night. She missed Henry more than words could convey.

"Me too." She paused and for a moment she thought she could leave it there, but her love of Henry won out over her fierce pride.

"I'd like to see him more."

Begging the princess, like a lowly pauper, for more time with the son that Miss Swan had given up years before. Begging for time with the boy she'd raised for ten years like a dog begged for scraps. If the other woman allowed it, though, her bruised pride would be more then worth it. She'd do anything for Henry.

"Maybe you'd consider letting him stay over sometime."

Oh how she wanted her son back under her roof, back in the house that hadn't been a home until she'd brought her little seven pound, ten ounce miracle into it.

"I have his room just-just waiting for him."

Her voice faltered on that. His room, that she had lovingly painted as a nursery and then later a toddler's room. Henry had picked the design of his current room only two years ago. Her big boy had known exactly what he wanted his room to look like. It was exactly how he'd left it but for the wrinkles in his comforter and the dried tears on his pillow from the nights she had slept in his bed.

"Oh, I-"The blonde hesitated, "I'm not sure that's for the best."

First came pain, such sharp and jagged pain in her heart and soul. Then anger rose in her, hot and familiar. How dare this woman keep her from Henry? This woman who hadn't even wanted him. The woman who'd given birth to him in a jail cell then tossed him away. Then a numbness settled in her chest. This was her reality now, Miss Swan was Henry's mother, whether she deserved to be or not.

"Because you know so much about parenting in the five minutes you've been with him." More than five minutes, it had been months of stealing Henry slowly with treats and adventures while she had been trying to be a good mother to him. She had been the one who had checked his homework and made sure he brushed his teeth, who had to discipline him when he skipped school. "Talk to your _charming _father David. At least he took care of him while you were away." Oh how she hated that. Her heart had broken, shattered in her chest once again, when Henry had walked away with his newly discovered grandfather. She had stolen his other grandfather from him, David was the only grandfather he would ever know. Daddy would never get to meet Henry, and that was her fault. That had been her price to pay.

"Like I did" Her anger was getting the better of her, crackling in her soul and entering her voice making her accusations sharp and her tone as hard as granite, "during the ten years you were away the first time." The best ten years of her entire existence.

"Okay" Emma's voice was low and her green eyes sparked, "thanks for coming." She turned around and Regina knew, down to her bones, that blonde would never allow her to see Henry now.

Damn her temper. She was trying to change, trying to be a better person. Why did everything have to be so hard? Why did the other woman have to get to her so easily? Why did every word have to get under Regina's skin? Why did it have to hurt so damn much to see her son's birth mother every day?

"No, wait." It couldn't end like this. She wouldn't let her chance at being Henry's mother again slip through her fingers so easily.

"I'm sorry."

How many people had heard her say that? Henry, of course, she had told him that over and over. Esmeralda, Daddy, her Mother. Queens do not apologize, her mother had told her. She was not a queen anymore, just a desperate mother. She even took a step forwards. She pulled her hands out of her coat pocket because she needed to move them, to use her hands to help make her point. Her mother had always hated that she spoke with her hands, a nasty peasant's habit that her father had instilled in her she'd said, but when she was nervous she could not stop herself. She tried, though, she clenched her shaking fists at her sides.

"Em-I-I" She was stuttering like an idiot, "I'm sorry." She said it again. She'd apologized twice to her now. "I shouldn't have snapped at you." Compared to her days as The Evil Queen, or even as Storybrooke's mayor, this had been a mild outburst. Still, though, she was sorry and she needed the other woman to know that. She needed Emma Swan to see that she was changing, for the better. "Will you accept my apology?"

* * *

Emma stood, silent for a moment, hands tucked into the pockets of her jeans.

She didn't know this Regina. It was yet another side to the brunette. Regina Mills had to be the most complicated person in the damn world, in any world. She was one of those impossibly beautiful puzzles with five-thousand tiny pieces. She looked so sad. Emma had stepped outside to catch her before she left, but she hadn't expected to see Regina like that. She was staring up at the sky, arms wrapped around her, alone in front of a diner full of people, in a town full of people. Regina stood alone, and for some reason she couldn't understand, Emma couldn't tolerate it anymore.

"Archie made a cake."

Lame. Oh so lame.

She was offering the Evil Queen cake. She didn't know what to do with this woman anymore. This woman who sucked up evil curses and painted her toenails bright colors, who asked for her son to stay over in his room.

"I-"She didn't know what to do, but she couldn't let Henry just wander back into Regina's life with a smile and a half-hearted promise of good behavior. Regina was still dangerous and Emma didn't trust Esmeralda. Not because of the gypsy nonsense either, there were too many questions and not enough answers about the woman.

"I'm not sure that's for the best."

If she'd have blinked, she would have missed it. The absolute devastation in Regina's eyes.

Then the woman snapped to life, the familiar anger and snide tone, this Regina she knew. This was the Regina that had punched her in the cemetery and challenged her from across the marble desk in her office. Here was the Evil Queen, which was why she couldn't let Henry go back to 108 Mifflin.

She turned to leave the woman, she had family and friends to get back to.

"I'm sorry."

Damn it. Emma turned around again, frustrated and confused. Regina Mills didn't apologize, but here she was, begging for her to accept an apology.

Maybe she had drank a little too much, because she wasn't sure this was actually happening.

She hadn't expected this. Emma could hardly believe her ears. Regina Mills, Evil Queen, Mayor and major pain in her ass, was apologizing, to her. She sounded so damn sincere, she was sincere, Emma could feel that the woman was telling the truth.

"Okay." Her words were barely a whisper.

If Regina truly wanted to change, fighting with her at every turn wasn't going to help.

"You're right."

Regina blinked and slid her hands back into her coat pockets.

"I don't know much about being a good mom and you did take care of Henry by yourself for ten years. I mean, you know what, thank you. For that, for taking care of Henry."

She had, Emma knew, taken good care of Henry. Maybe she wasn't Mother of the Year, but she had given him a safe, stable home, support, care, love. No matter how awkward and suffocating it had been, Regina loved Henry.

"I-"Regina shrugged, "Henry is the best thing in my life. He's the only good thing I've _ever_ done."

Finally, Emma nodded, something they could agree on. She had done some messed up things in her life but having Henry, even if she hadn't been able to keep him, was the best thing she'd ever done.

"So maybe it's not the best idea, but I think him spending more time with you would be good. Maybe not overnight, not yet, but you're his mother too."

Regina only nodded silently. Had she really just left the mouthy mayor speechless?

"And I mean with Cora in town having you close to Henry is a good idea-for his safety I mean."

It was an instant change. It started with her eyes-the dark chocolate brown eyes went wide. Then her face lost its healthy olive tone, it went very pale very fast.

"Wh-what?"

Her voice shook, Emma hadn't heard her voice like that since Henry had been in the hospital. With that off-hand comment Emma learned two very important things. One, Esmeralda had not told Regina how she had arrived in Storybrooke and two. Emma felt a cold splash of fear in her belly. Two, Regina Mills, bad ass Evil Queen, was terrified of her own mother.

"My mother" Regina reached out and rested her palm on the nearby table-as if she was having problems standing. "is here, in Storybrooke?"

Emma stepped closer, a little worried now. She had seen this reaction in people before, but not in a very long time. This instant and overwhelming fear was familiar, too familiar. This was the same fear she had seen on countless faces and no matter how old you got, the fear remained. This was the face of an abused child.

"Regina."

She had known that Cora was a piece of work, but this was something else entirely.

She rested a hand on Regina's shoulder, "It's going to be okay."

The flesh underneath her hand stiffened and Regina shrugged it away.

"You have no idea what she was capable of. If she knew about Henry." Regina's shudder conveyed more than words could.

Well shit. Emma sighed, she had better tell her now.

"About that, she might already kind of know about Henry."

"Oh God." Regina's voice was a raspy whisper and Emma knew that was from terror.

The Evil Queen was terrified. Oh double shit, what had she done?

"I didn't know, Regina!" She threw up her hands and started to pace, "I mean I didn't get a damn visitor's guide to Fairy Tale Forest Land. No one told me that your mother is a fucking sociopath who rips out hearts left right and sideways. I mean we were in a damn hole with no way out and she was this lady in there with us. She gave me this sob-story about her daughter being so freaking bad and I don't know we'd been kind of at each other's throats and it made sense at the time. Then Snow woke up and gave me the 411 on Mommy Dearest. She overheard me telling Snow to play it cool and Henry's name just popped out. I didn't know!"

Regina had to understand how bad she felt, how monumentally stupid she had been. She got it, she understood. Emma Swan had, once again, fucked up big time.

"Then poof she was Lancelot. Did you know that fucking Lancelot was real? He is. Apparently the whole damn King Arthur thing is true. It's like eleventh grade English is back to bite me in the damn ass." She was rambling now, but couldn't stop.

"Then we're running and she summons zombies. Fucking zombies to chase us. Then there's Hook, and by the way he's a bastard. I climbed up a beanstalk, like Jack from the story, and there was a literal giant. A giant, fee-fi-fo-fum giant in a castle in the clouds. All I wanted to do was get _home_. Your batshit insane mother tried to kill us multiple times and then we were in my childhood nursery and so close to being home then fire and fighting happened. She took Aurora's heart, or Hook did, I'm a little fuzzy on that. We were locked in some creepy prison and I used a scroll full of my name written in magic ink to free us. Then boom we're fighting Cora and she shoved her hand into my chest."

"She took your heart?"

Regina's voice cracked, and she closed the gap between them, putting herself way into Emma's personal space. "She has your heart and you allowed yourself to be near to Henry? Do you know what she could make you do? You have _no idea_ what she is truly capable of!"

Regina's eyes were wide with fear, her voice shook and her hands fluttered in the air like she wanted to grab Emma and shake her.

Emma grabbed Regina's wrists and held them still. "She tried. It wouldn't come out. It was, like, stuck in my chest."

She hadn't thought it was such a big deal, but Regina's face, mouth open in amazement, told her that it probably was.

"She started rambling about love being weakness and I told her that love was strength and then she was blown backwards. I set myself to stun or something. Then we hopped in the portal and climbed out of the well. According to Aurora and Mulan, Hook and Cora sailed here through another portal. Aurora and Mulan stole away on the ship with your Esmeralda's help."

She ached to shove her fingers through her hair, but refused to let Regina's wrists free. God only knew what the woman would do if she could move her hands. She'd already been the target of one of Regina Mill's punches and didn't particularly want to go through that again. "And that's the gist of Emma and Snow's Bogus Adventure."

"She couldn't take your heart?" Regina's voice was steady but quiet. It was like she couldn't believe what Emma was telling her.

Emma still had Regina's wrists in her heads so she brought one of Regina's hands to her chest. "Nope still here, still beating and doing whatever else a heart is supposed to do." Beating a little faster than normal, actually. "No one is going to hurt Henry. I'm the Savior and you're the Evil Queen, who the hell has a chance against us?"

Regina pulled away, wrenching herself out of Emma's grasp, "My mother." She walked away from Emma, four steps, then stopped. Her back was to Emma but her words were clear, "She has magic and is ruthless. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants." Emma watched the woman before her transform yet again. Her spine stiffened and she could see Regina's shoulders square beneath her coat.

"And what does she want, Regina?"

The brunette turned to the side so Emma could see the shadows play on one side of her face, "Me. Miss Swan, she wants me and by extension Henry."

There was no way in Heaven, Hell, The Enchanted Forests, Storybrooke or anywhere in between, that Cora was going to lay a hand on Henry or his mother.

"Not happening."

Regina turned to face her again, dark hair flipping as she moved, "And what can you do to stop her? I absorbed our last and best defense against her yesterday. That magic, all that fairy dust, is gone now. What are you going to do, threaten her with a _chainsaw_? She's the Queen of Hearts, even Gold fears her power. Does that tell you anything?" The mayor was back, the spitfire woman who fought Emma at every turn about everything. This was the Regina they needed right now. The fighter, the woman who wouldn't quit even if everything was stacked against her.

"That this Gold is a fool."

Both Emma and Regina turned to see Esmeralda standing just outside the door of Granny's. Neither were sure how long the other woman had been there.

"Esmeralda, please tell Miss Swan-"

"Emma." She was damn tired of the formal bull crap that Regina hid behind. "My name is Emma."

"Fine," Regina blew out a frustrated breath, "Tell _Emma_ how powerful Mother is. She won't listen to me."

The Romani woman walked towards them, empty lasagna dish in her hands, "She is powerful, this is known."

Regina looked smug, like she had won some sort of victory.

"But you are more powerful then she could ever imagine."

That left Regina speechless and Emma wanted to groan. That's exactly what she needed, Regina Mills on a power-trip.

"Why didn't you tell me she was here? I could have done something."

From the way Regina's voice wavered on something, she had no clue what the something could have been. Emma knew the feeling though. Doing something was always better than doing nothing.

"I was going to tell you when you had fully recovered."

Fully recovered? What was that supposed to mean? Emma did not like the sound of that.

"It is unimportant. Are you ready to leave?"

Regina nodded wordlessly and Esmeralda crossed the patio to stand at the brunette's side.

"Thank you for inviting us, Emma Swan. It was an _enlightening_ evening."

Emma watched both women walk away, and had no idea what to think about either of them.

High above Granny's diner, perched on one of Storybrooke's rooftops, Hook watched the scene play out through his spy glass. He lowered it and shrugged, "Well, is she broken?"

Regina, the Evil Queen, didn't look broken to him, but looks could be deceiving. Cora stood beside him, her blue dress and cloak rippling in the wind. He had sneaked a glance at her more than once while they'd watched the dramatic little scene play out before them. She, unlike himself, apparently didn't need a spyglass. Her face had flickered between unimpressed boredom to mild amusement, but had made no comments. He wasn't sure what the conversation had been about, but he did have a guess at why Emma Swan hadn't responded to his advances.

"Not yet." Cora's mouth pulled into a smirk. "Esmeralda's presence has changed my plan a little bit."

"Oh really?" If the gypsy made things difficult why had they let her tag along in the first place? There was more to this than what Cora was telling him.

She nodded, "Regina has to lose everything and the farther she falls the easier it will be to bring her back into my arms."

He buffed his hook on his shirt, "So you want to string her along a bit, toy with her. Give the puppy a minute with the bone two before wrenching it away."

Cora didn't answer but her face, and her cold smile, told him all he needed to know.

AN2: What did Esmeralda find so enlightening? Find out in the next chapter. Also Maleficent was ridiculously fun to write.


	10. Chapter IX: Agree to Disagree

Author's Note: Sorry about the delay! You guys have been awesome and I appreciate every single review and especially the wishes of luck, it definitely helped! For those who asked, my OUAT paper received a perfect score which went a long way towards getting an A in my Advanced Composition class. Final Exams are over and I am done with University until August.

We all survived the Season Finale! Well, all but one. There was a liquid+laptop incident and I was terrified that I'd lost everything for a minute. The computer survived though my keyboard is a loss. I've got it fixed for the short-term, with a long term solution in the works. All the work I've done on this fic, "Reset" (yes, it will continue) and "Never Never" (coming soon) was almost exclusively stored on my laptop. This chapter, some really spectacular Belle moments and several SwanQueen scenes were almost destroyed. Thank Lana that didn't happen!

Now, without further ado, I give you the Part 3 (the last part!) of the Party Scene. Read, enjoy, and review if the spirit moves you. I love reviews, they feed my hungry muses...this is known.

Chapter IX

Agree To Disagree

"And Katherine and Jim, or you'd remember them better as Princess Abbigail and Sir Frederick, live over at 44 Third Street. Katherine is taking law courses online and she's determined to become Storybrooke's first elected District Attorney."

Aurora blinked, "I'm sorry, but I only understood about half of what you just said."

Ruby, Belle and Snow looked between each other and then, much to Aurora's embarrassment, started to laugh. Belle regained her composure first. "Trust me it gets easier. I don't have cursed memories either. Some days can be a little confusing, but you catch on quickly. Everyone here is so kind and helpful."

"Well" Snow's eyes cut to the booth that Regina had recently vacated, "_most_ people are."

"So." Ruby's slightly over-the-top cheerful voice cut through Snow's momentary gloom, "What are you planning to do now, Mulan?"

Belle, hand still resting comfortably in the crook of Ruby's elbow turned and the Warrior shifted from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable with the sudden scrutiny. Her hands were locked behind her, folded stiffly at the small of her back. "I have sworn an oath to Prince Phillip to protect Princess Aurora."

"Well" Leah spoke for the first time, "that certainly is not necessary anymore. Her father and I can provide Aurora" She slipped her arm around her daughter's waist, "everything she could possibly need or want." When the two women stood so close it was impossible to deny their shared blood. From the shape of their faces, to their coloring and even their body-shape, Aurora was almost a perfect replica of Leah.

Snow felt a little jealous that mother and daughter shared so much when she could see so little of herself in Emma.

Ruby felt a pang of guilt, she too had looked like her mother. Even Esmeralda had said as much. Only Anita was not around to hug her. She had died, impaled on a pike, cursing her daughter with her last breathes.

Belle smiled but keenly missed her own mother, who had died of a fever when she had been three years old.

Mulan said nothing, she did not trust herself to speak. She had been neatly and bloodlessly dismissed. Shame filled her entire being. This was the second time she had been dismissed from service, and this time cut just as deeply as the last had. If her family had not disowned her years before she would have felt the crushing guilt of knowing that she had brought further shame to her ancestors.

"But Mother." Aurora hugged Leah back and smiled, "Mulan and I still have to rescue Phillip's soul."

Mulan smiled and her spirit rose again like a reawakened phoenix. She still had a quest, a duty to fulfill. She was not in service to this royal family, she was sworn to Prince Phillip and his rescue. Aurora had not forgotten that, or her.

"Perhaps I can help."

Belle moved away from Ruby and touched Mulan's tee-shirt clad shoulder, "I helped rescue Phillip the first time, after all."

"What?"

The entire group of women refocused their attention on Belle.

"You helped rescue a Prince?" Ruby looked her up and down, obviously shocked.

Mulan smiled for the first time since she had arrived at the party. "She is a clever warrior. If not for her, Phillip would still be lost."

"I wouldn't call myself a warrior, I almost cut my own arm off with that sword. I do much better with books."

Mulan, usually humorless, threw her head and laughed.

Aurora almost dropped her glass of Coke, the drink Henry had recommended her when she expressed her distaste for beer, at the sound. She had never heard the other woman laugh. It was a husky, rough and melodious sound, not the giggles of a teenager or the proper and understated titter of a Lady, a real soldier's spontaneous and whole-hearted laugh.

"Perhaps."

Belle, gracious despite the teasing, rolled her eyes, "Admit it, my books helped."

Mulan's face returned to its usual stoic blankness, "They did and they may again."

"Well magical quests are great, but they pay crap." Ruby leaned back against the counter and crossed her long legs at the ankle. "And there aren't allot of openings for sword swinging heroes in Storybrooke."

Leah nodded, "Yes and I'm sure Granny won't take good intentions for rent."

Snow and Aurora both opened their mouths to protest, but Mulan quietly beat them to the verbal punch.

"The Lucas Family has been very generous to me, and I will not continue to abuse their hospitality. I will retire to the forest to camp until I can secure lodgings."

"Absolutely not!"

Both Belle and Aurora's outraged voices rose above the Diner's many conversations.

"Mother, there must be-"

Aurora's protests were cut off by Belle's calm voice.

"You are not going to camp in the middle of forest in Maine, Mulan. You're staying with me. I have an apartment above the library."

"The Hell!" Ruby pushed off of the counter, "Belle you don't even get paid for all that crap you do in the library, you can't just open up your home to some free-loader!"

"You don't get paid?"

"Free loader?!"

"Well."

Snow, Aurora and Leah's reactions were faster and louder but it was Belle's single word that caught Ruby's attention.

"Crap?"

Belle's blue eyes narrowed, "I beg your pardon, Ruby Lucas, but I happen to _like_ my work at the library. It may not be the most important job in Storybrooke but it makes me _happy_." She crossed her arms and glared at the taller brunette, "And I do get paid, thank you very much."

"I wouldn't call getting an allowance from the Dark One a paycheck, Miss French."

Leah curled her lip in disgust, "You're practically a kept woman."

"Leah!"

Snow sounded positively scandalized.

"If I do get an allowance, Mrs. Weathersby, so do you." Belle met the former queen with an equal amount of disdain in her voice. "Head Librarian is a municipal position. _Regina Mills_ signs my checks and sets my budget the same way she does _yours_." Belle took a long drink of her iced tea, "And after twenty-eight years of being closed for repairs the library has a _very healthy _budget to work with."

"Repairs. Now that's an interesting way to say theres a dragon in the basement."

Ruby's words, flippant and casual, made both Aurora and Leah pale. Aurora put her half-full glass of cola on the counter before it slipped from her shaking hand, "A dragon? You mean that Maleficent is here?"

Despite the earlier bickering, Mulan was at Aurora's side in a heartbeat, hand already on her sword.

"Emma killed the dragon."

Snow's words were quick and quiet, "Before the curse broke. Maleficent can't hurt anyone anymore."

"Well that's one witch down" Leah's voice dropped an octave and her face tightened into a scowl, "and one to go."

* * *

"Things look like they're getting heated over there."

David sipped his beer and shifted uncomfortably. Snow's face was turning red, which was rare.

"They're women, James, they're probably arguing about s_hoes_."

Steve Weathersby, former King, was seated comfortably on a stool, his elbow negligently propped on the counter only inches away from Emma's plate of tacos.

"Though it is good to see Aurora and Leah making friends."

David nodded and wondered if he should correct the other man. He was not, nor had he ever wanted to be James. He had shed that name with the curse and didn't really want it back.

"Friends? They don't look like they're going to braid each other's hair."

He wondered if he should step over there. He was a man, though, and if he had learned anything from attending balls at Snow's side, it was that too many women made for a sticky situation for him. Women were complicated, tricky creatures. They had too many wiles and games, too many ways to trap you into saying or doing something you would only get in trouble for later. Still, he was the law and if things escalated…

"Oh relax, Sheriff."

David drained his beer, "Emma's the Sheriff. I was just filling in while she was gone. It was the least I could do. Now that she's back the job is hers again, we elected her after all."

Stephen regarded him regally, "That was before, when were cursed. She's a princess, royalty, James. You don't mean to let her continue to do that peasant's job do you?"

David wished he were anywhere else, at all. "Emma's a grown woman and makes her own decisions."

Stephen chuckled into his drink, "That's a trait of the White Women. Eva and Snow had Leopold wrapped around their little fingers. It looks like your Emma takes after her mother and grandmother in that respect." He clapped David on the shoulder, "Oh don't get upset, James, I spoil my girls too. Kings without sons have to be a little soft-hearted." He held up his stein and two fingers, and looked around for Granny for a refill. "I'm only glad Leopold's heart hardened before he wedded and bedded Regina. God only knows what would have happened if he'd let that _witch_ have the freedom that Eva did. We would have all been rotting heartless corpses before you would have been old enough to shave."

David looked around, almost desperate for an excuse to step away from Stephen. He saw his last possible chance, Emma, slip out the door. Damn.

"Yeah well, we beat her once and if she wants to cause trouble we can do it again."

Stephen folded his arms over his chest and raised a raven brow, "You beat her? We were cursed for twenty-eight years, that hardly feels like a victory. The next time Regina gets frisky maybe someone else should lead the charge."

What was that supposed to mean? He hadn't been raised around politics and Kings, but he knew a challenge when he heard one.

"Oh I think Snow, Emma and I can handle Regina."

Stephen only grunted in reply.

* * *

"And this electricity is a magic energy that makes all these lights stay on _and_ keeps the food fresh _and _plays the music?"

This realm was a truly unique and powerful place.

"It's definitely better than tallow candles, hunting vermin and listening to talentless twerps pluck at mandolins."

Archie chuckled at Granny's joke.

"There are allot of things in this realm that make life easier, it's something we've all become used to over the years. I hadn't considered how odd it would seem without cursed memories. You should really talk to Belle, she's adjusted very well to life in Storybrooke."

Archie pushed his glasses back up onto his nose. "Though she was a princess. I suppose it's very different for a Romani."

Esmeralda gave the redheaded man a smile. He was one of the few people that she had met, in any realm, that paid her people enough respect to refer to them by their proper name. "I have traveled many realms, and they are all strange, though I must admit this town that My Nightingale made is certainly the strangest."

Widow, called Granny here, Lucas choked on her beer. "Regina, _Regina Mills_, is your Little Nightingale?"

They had spoken of their beloved girls, Granny of Red and she of her Nightingale, years ago while she had camped in the woods near the cottage sewing the magical red cloak she had sold to the other woman.

A small smile crossed her face, "Since she was a babe-in-arms."

"So" Archie smiled, "you really did help raise her and now you've come back into her life. It must take a lot of strength and love to stay by hers side after everything that has happened."

This man, Esmeralda decided, knew how to use words. He was not unkind, but he probed with careful questions and clever insights.

"Even the gravest mistakes and the most damaged souls can be brought back into balance with enough good works and love."

Archie plucked his glasses off his face and cleaned them on his sweater, "You're talking about The Old Ways. I haven't even thought of them since I was a child."

"You're wrong."

Little Henry climbed up onto a nearby stool and sipped his root beer with a scowl on his face. "She can't ever make up for everything she's done. No matter what she does. She'll always be _evil_."

Esmeralda looked around and was relieved to see that Regina was not in the room to hear Little Henry say such a thing.

"There is no such thing as a good or evil person, Little Henry, only good and evil actions."

Henry rolled his eyes, "She's the _Evil Queen_."

Anger started to rise in Esmeralda and she bit the inside of her cheek to remind her to keep it under control. He was just a boy, a very young boy who had only barely started on his life's journey.

"She's your mother."

"No she's not."

Archie put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "You don't mean that, Henry."

"Yes I do."

Anger boiled up in Esmeralda's chest. This was the son her Little One had spoken of so softly? This was why her eyes had showed such sadness. If there was one thing Regina had ever wanted, since the time she was old enough to cradle a doll, it was to be a mother. Little Henry was confused, Esmeralda reminded herself. He had found himself in a very unusual situation and his mother had done many horrible things.

"There is much you do not understand, Little Henry."

She smiled softly at the boy. He reminded her of Regina. She had gone through a stage very like this. She had been bright, quick and far too clever for her own good. She had thought herself to be smarter than everyone. The world was so small to children. Esmeralda reached out to smooth Henry's hair and the boy jerked away.

"My name is Henry, there's nothing little about me."

She lowered her hand and refused to show her disappointment at his reaction to her. "Henry is the name I called your grandfather, therefore you cannot be Henry. You are Little Henry."

"My grandfather's name is David. That other Henry is just _Regina's_ dead father. He doesn't mean anything to me."

A surge of pain cut through her. Oh Henry, she felt tears burn in her eyes, he doesn't mean it. Her sadness and anger curled around her heart and for a moment the bitterness overwhelmed her.

"_Do not_ speak ill of your ancestors, _Little Boy_." Her voice was cold and it cracked like a whip. Though she did not realize it, the entire Diner recognized the tone as Regina's mayoral voice.

"Hey!" David Nolan, Prince Charming, stepped over. "That's my grandson you're talking to, Gypsy."

Her scared lips turned down in a frown, "Yes. His manners must be a reflection of _poor breeding_ because I _know_ his mother taught him better because I taught her _respect_."

"Hey you can't talk to him like that, he's a prince!"

David settled his hand on Henry's shoulder and smiled, "Gypsies aren't civilized enough to know any better, Henry. They don't respect leaders because they don't have their own."

His ignorance and his off-the-cuff way of sharing it with an impressionable little boy made her blood boil.

"I see no _prince_ here. Only a jumped up shepherd boy given a dead man's name and a life that was not his own."

The only sound in the room was Snow's gasp.

"I knew you had to be evil."

Henry stood up and wrapped his arms around David's waist. "You're no better than _she_ is."

He is but a boy, Esmeralda reminded herself. She had dealt with sorcerers, kings, wizards, and men who thought they were Gods. She could deal with an ungrateful, spoiled boy who spoke of things he couldn't possibly understand.

"One who has taken so few steps on his own journey should not speak on the paths of others."

Snow had, during the argument, walked across the room to join her husband and grandson.

"And a barefoot barbarian shouldn't speak to her _betters_ like that."

Esmeralda did not lower her eyes or move an inch. She stared down the couple and the boy. She knew that she should not have lost her temper, but these people would have driven The Beloved Light herself to fall, or gleefully leap, from grace.

"No one person can stand above another. We are all one family descended from the same source." She plucked the white dish, Regina had called it ceramic but it looked like no ceramic she'd seen before, from the counter. "I will see my own way out." She turned towards the door, "It was good to see you again, Eugenia, and to meet you, Archie."

Then she walked, head held high and shoulders stiff, out of the door.

She entered the dark courtyard, fury burning in her heart, and saw something she did not expect to see. It was, in fact, one of the very last things she had expected to see.

Her Nightingale was in the arms of Emma Swan.

"She couldn't take your heart?"

Ah, Esmeralda finally understood. Cora had tried to take Emma Swan's heart.

"Nope still here, still beating and doing whatever else a heart is supposed to do."

And she had failed, a first for the Queen of Hearts.

"No one is going to hurt Henry. I'm the Savior and you're the Evil Queen, who the hell has a chance against us?"

They called Emma Swan The Savior? Esmeralda's eyebrow rose at that. Could it really be so simple? After all her years of searching, could this really be her answer?

Then her Little One pulled away, her voice dripped with fear as she spoke of Cora, the woman who was supposed to be her mother. The heartless beast that had happily helped turn her Little Nightingale to her dark path.

She's the Queen of Hearts, even Gold fears her power. Does that tell you anything?"

Had these people really worn her Little One down so far? This was the woman who had brought an entire realm to its knees and she no longer had confidence in herself. Though she vehemently hated what Regina had done, she could not deny that it had taken power. More power than the Dark One himself had been able to gather.

"That this Gold is a fool."

She was beginning to think that many people of Storybrooke were fools.

Both women, Emma Swan and Her Little Nightingale, turned to face her.

They bickered about the blonde's name for a moment before Regina capitulated and called the White Princess by her given name, Emma.

It had been Miss Swan that morning and under the dark night sky it was Emma. Interesting.

"Tell Emma how powerful Mother is."

Cora was powerful, that was known, but it was time that Her Nightingale recognized her own potential.

"-but you are more powerful than she ever imagined."

That was known. She had always felt the power of magic in Regina. She had felt the surge of dark energy in her the very first time she had touched the girl.

Then Regina, voice as wobbly as it had ever been as a child, asked why she hadn't shared the news about Cora's arrival in Storybrooke. Why hadn't she told Regina that her mother had returned to her life? She wasn't sure herself. Perhaps it was because she had wanted just a few days with the girl she loved with all her heart without the shadow of Cora Mills darkening their time. Perhaps she hadn't said because she was naive enough to think that she could protect her like she had when Regina had been a child. Perhaps it was because she had found Her Little Nightingale on death's door and had desperately wanted her to be well before she told her that the cruel woman that had haunted her childhood nightmares was back.

"I was going to tell you when you had fully recovered."

She wasn't recovered yet. It took more than a day to recover from being at the brink of death. Besides, her Little Nightingale had not been taking proper care of herself. She was too thin, she barely ate enough to keep her namesake alive. There was too much alcohol in her home and not enough food. There was too much sadness and shadow in her life and not enough smiles and light.

"It is unimportant." It wasn't, but she refused to talk about it when they were still close to the Diner full of fools and idiots. "Are you ready to leave?" They were leaving no matter if she was ready or not. This place and these people were not good for Regina and she was not going to let her Little One linger in the toxic environment they'd found themselves in.

She paused when she reached Regina's side, and looked back at Emma Swan. She could not help but think of the past and of her quest. She could not help but remember a very old story, a child's tale of a cursed princess and a sad queen.

""Thank you for inviting us, Emma Swan. It was an _enlightening_ evening."

To say the least. She wrapped her arm around her Little One's shoulders, unsure if she was comforting herself or Regina with the movement, and lead the woman she loved more than anything other person in any world, towards her home.

When Regina had been a child simple words of comfort had always been enough to calm her. Esmeralda didn't have enough words to make up for the ugly hate, anger and negativity that Regina dealt with every day so she simply kissed the woman's temple as they walked. That would have to be enough for now.

She felt eyes on her as they walked but chose to ignore Cora's glare and the cold wind that it rode on.

AN2: I'm sorry, but someone had to say it. Henry spent the majority of 2 seasons being a disrespectful brat.


	11. Chapter X: The After Party

Author's Note: 101 Reviews?! You guys are the best! I really love all the feedback and hope you guys keep sending it my way. I appreciate anything someone says about my work, even if it's negative and especially if it's constructive critisism. Now, who's ready for some SleepingWarrior?

Chapter X

The After Party

The party ended abruptly after Esmeralda and Prince David exchanged words. Mulan did not know much about the politics or culture of Storybrooke, but she did know one thing. Had she ever spoke to an adult as Henry Mills did when she had been ten, she would not have survived to become an adult. She kept this thought to herself, though.

Emma Swan returned to the party but was lost in her own thoughts and paid little attention to the tense faces or jangling nerves in the room. She bid her goodbyes and she, her parents and her son left the Diner. The dwarves, or at least a handful of them decided to continue their festivities at The Rabbit Hole. When she asked, Belle told her it was the local tavern. Belle was also ready to go, though she had been since her argument with Ruby Lucas. She was still glaring at the tall brunette from across the room. Mulan would happily run into battle naked armed only with a table knife to avoid being drawn into an argument between two women.

A soft hand touched her arm and she turned to see Aurora. The Princess smiled at her and Mulan inclined her head.

"It's nice that your friend is being so kind." Aurora grasped her own elbows and turned to look at her parents for a moment, "but should it not work out, you are always welcome at my home." Mulan could see Aurora's parents out of the corner of her eye and from their facial expressions she doubted that what Aurora was saying was true. "It isn't a castle, but a blue manor house on Forest Avenue. There is a lovely garden in the front." Though she was listening to Aurora, her attention was on the woman's mother. She and the former Queen were staring at each other over Aurora's shoulder. The woman's expression made it very clear that an army of ogres would be more welcome in her home.

"Mulan?"

Soft hands captured her calloused ones, slender tapered fingers tangled with hers. She refocused on the woman in front of her and felt her lips tug into a small smile.

"We're still a team, right? You and I."

Ah, Prince Phillip's rescue, their quest. It had, for a brief moment, slipped her mind.

"Of course, Princess."

Aurora's smile, full and true, made Mulan lose her breath for a moment. Their hands parted and it felt like her body's warmth fled when her princess withdrew. No, Mulan sternly reminded herself, Phillip's princess. Her friend, her Lord Prince, the reason for her quest. Aurora had always and would always belong to Phillip and she was sworn to reunite them. They were each other's True Loves and she was a fool.

"Good night, Princess."

She watched Aurora join her parents and then disappear through the door. Though it was insanity, betrayal and an impossibility, Mulan felt a piece of her heart go with her.

"Are you ready to go?" Belle smiled, a somewhat sad and resigned expression, at her.

"Indeed."

* * *

The tip of the Cuban cigar glowed in the dark room like a red-hot cherry.

"It sounds like it was a lively party. A pity I wasn't invited." Albert Spencer, or King George as he preferred to be addressed, sat in a plush wingback chair by the roaring fireplace.

"Well everyone took you off their e-vite list when you murdered that mouse." A black gloved hand swirled brandy around a crystal sniffer, "Not that you were popular with_ that_ crowd in the old days either. Didn't you try to execute that pretender you were trying to pass off as James at least twice?" Alexander Emery looked very different then his former self. His long golden curls had been cut short and rigidly gelled into submission. He was clean-shaven and dressed in a starched white oxford shirt. The only connection to his former self was the single glove he wore. The return of magic to Storybrooke had given King Midas his golden touch back, whether he wanted it or not.

"Regina saved him for her own devious purposes."

"And look how _that_ turned out. Leave it to a woman to leave things half-done."

Stephen, still dressed in the clothes he'd attended the party at Granny's in, poured himself another drink. "Xavier would roll over in his grave if he saw his bloodline reduced to _her_."

George raised his glass, "To Xavier, one of the truly great Kings. What was it he used to say?" He paused, "Ah yes, love is weakness. Smart man." The other two men raised their glasses.

"His mistake," Midas grumbled, "Was letting that son of his marry a witch."

Stephen drained his drink, "Cora. She's was a frigid little peasant, but she could produce gold from straw. What's a man to do? She ruined Henry, walked all over him."

"He was weak, it was a good thing he was so far down the line of secession." George scoffed and puffed on his cigar, "But we still saw Regina rise as Queen." He shook his head, "I will never understand what Leopold saw in the wench."

Midas threw back his head and laughed as he prepared his own cigar by cutting the tip with an elegant gold instrument. "I do. He was a widower and she was a hot blooded eighteen year old beauty. Did you ever see her at court? Absolutely stunning."

"And evil." Stephen added darkly, "The woman is the devil incarnate."

"She wasn't so bad" George mused as he lit his own cigar, "when Leopold was still alive. The man was a mess over Eva and Snow, but he certainly held Regina's reigns tight."

"Perhaps too tight. If she had followed through and killed her step-daughter we wouldn't be stuck here in this little slice of purgatory playing the parts of businessmen and fools." Midas was especially bitter about the curse. His daughter had been cast as a victim and he had not liked that at all. His Abbigail was no one's puppet.

"We won't be for much longer." Stephen refilled his glass and offered the decanter of aged brandy to the other men. "Snow and her Shepard Boy are losing people's confidence. Their inner circle remains intact, but the rest of the town is a little tired of fighting a war for _their_ happiness."

Midas took a refill and swirled it around, "And Regina?"

Stephen refilled George's glass and put the decanter back on the sidebar, "Far too interested in her son and the gypsy to worry about anything else."

"Gypsy?"

Midas's voice was guarded, but both of the other Kings could read the surprise in his voice.

"Yes some filthy mongrel named Esmeralda. She was apparently Regina's nursemaid. Honestly, that explains so very much about The Evil Queen."

It was hard to tell in the firelight, but Midas could feel every ounce of color drain from his face and his gloved hand curled into an unintentional fist. He felt each of Stephen's words like a punch to the gut. Esmeralda was in Storybrooke. Old resentment rose in his belly. The Gypsy bitch was back.

"I see." He fought to bring his face back under control. It would do no good to have the other two men know of his dealings with gypsies and their magic. Specifically this gypsy and the curse she'd laid on him years before. The curse he'd asked for, his golden touch.

"My daughter told me that Cora is also in Storybrooke with some pirate."

"Cora" A new and feminine voice, announced "is only interested in Regina and the boy she raised, Emma Swan's bastard." Leah glided into the cloud of cigar smoke and testosterone with the same grace she had wielded as a Queen in a ballroom. She plucked the decanter of brandy from her husband's hand and tossed the alcohol back with one smooth snap of her wrist. "Trust me, she will not bother us. She might even be an asset to our cause."

Stephen regarded his wife with an unreadable expression, "Aurora?"

The cold façade of a queen was momentarily replaced by a mother's warmth, "Upstairs asleep."

"I should bring Abbigail over one day, they used to get along famously." Midas grinned, "It is too bad that we both had daughters-" He let the thought go unfinished.

"Save the family talk." George's voice was sharp, like broken glass. "No one has explained to me how we're going to get rid of Snow and her Pretender. It's not as though I can send an army after them now."

Leah chuckled as she poured herself a drink from the side bar, "Men. Always thinking with your swords. Have twenty-eight years in this realm taught you _nothing_?" She stepped forward and stood beside her husband's chair, like a queen standing beside a king on his throne. "We won't have to lift a finger. This world is controlled by a different kind of power. Isn't that right?"

She turned her head to look into the darkness by the open doorway she'd come through.

"Knowledge has always been power, Your Majesty." Sidney Glass, gaunt from his time in the asylum, stepped into the light. "But here it is especially useful. People believe everything they read in the newspaper."

George turned to stare at the disgraced newsman, "And you think you know enough to help us?"

A wide smile stretched across Sidney's sunken face, "But of course, I am after all, the man in the mirror."

* * *

The mechanical ticking above her head ground into her skull like the hoof beats of a cavalry. Mulan stared at the dark ceiling, unable to sleep. Belle had offered her the couch to sleep on, blankets and a soft pillow. It was everything she could possibly want in a bed after years on the road and years before that in the Imperial Army. She was tired, exhausted, beyond her usual limits of weariness, but she still could not sleep. Why couldn't she sleep?

She looked down at the floor beside her where her sheathed sword lay, ready to be taken up at a moment's notice. She doubted an army would break down a librarian's door. Storybrooke was a surprisingly quiet place, devoid of the chaos that had plagued the ruins of the Enchanted Forest. If this was a curse, Mulan reflected wryly, it did not seem so horrible. Belle had explained it to her. Most of the citizens had spent the last twenty-eight years living their lives with false memories. Where would she have fit in here? What would her false memories been like? She would not remember her family, but neither would she have remembered her dishonor. She wouldn't remember the camaraderie she'd found in the Imperial Army. She would forget the pain of her shame and the horror and disgust on her battle brother's faces when her true sex had been revealed. Here she would have been someone else, a fisher or a green grocer, perhaps. People would smile at her and welcome her instead of staring with suspicion.

It was foolish to think about these things, though. She had not been cursed, she had no such memories and to wish that she had was disgraceful. She rolled off the couch and landed silently on the balls of her feet. She was too confined, too closed in. She needed to see the sky and feel the wind. She needed to go for a long walk to clear her head.

She slid her feet into her boots, one of the items she refused to trade out for something more modern, and quietly let herself out of what Belle called an apartment. The stairs that lead from the alleyway behind the library to the apartment were solid and she went down them without a squeak or clatter of loose metal.

It was late, the stars were twinkling above her head and the Storybrooke streets were deserted. The large clock whose ticking had kept her awake, told her that it was just after midnight. She walked without a destination, the sword she had taken from her father's collection so many years before strapped to her side.

Storybrooke, Belle had told her that afternoon, was in a place called Maine which was a part of something called the United States of America. Only it wasn't. The Queen's curse kept the town separated from the rest of Maine by a magical barrier. The Queen, though, was not a queen here. She was a Mayor, or a low lord. She hadn't looked very powerful, Mulan mused. The woman that had been known far and wide as The Evil Queen looked defeated. When she had stumbled towards herself, Aurora and Esmeralda and had looked like death. She had met the woman's eyes, brown clouded by green magic, and recognized the look in them. The Evil Queen had been ready to die. She had been stronger when Mulan had seen her tonight, but the look in her eyes had been only a little less devastated. She had been uncomfortable, especially when she had caught The Evil Queen watching Aurora. She had felt the urge to move across the room and protect the princess from her gaze. Only, she realized, the look in the woman's eyes had not been dark or malevolent. It had been hurt, and wanting. After the way Henry treated her it must have hurt to see a mother and daughter so close and happy.

Mulan knew what it was like to ache for familial love. Her own mother had cast her out of their family. Cora, the witch who stole hearts and laughed about it, could not have been very loving mother either. It disturbed her to think that she and a woman who had brought an entire world to its knees, might have something in common.

The sound of what Belle had told her was a car broke her out of her thoughts. She ducked around a fence, not sure how far away she needed to be from the machine to not be injured. She looked around at her surroundings for the first time in what seemed like hours. A large blue manor house met her gaze. It boasted a large front garden full of flowers and a sign beside the door declared it to be the home of the Weathersby's. Aurora's parents cursed names, of course. Her feet had led her to Aurora no matter what had been going through her head.

The front door opened and she darted around the side of some tall bushes. It would not do to be found in Aurora's parent's yard in the middle of the night with no explanation. She watched between the leaves of a shrub she had no name for as three men left the manor. It was very late for visitors, especially since the Weatherly's had just left a party. It was dark, but Mulan was positive that she did not know any of the men that set out in different directions. A small spark of concern shot up her spine. Her instincts, honed by years of war and secrecy, told her that this was not a good thing and those were not trustworthy men. Anyone who felt it necessary to come and go under the cover of darkness could not be up to anything honorable. She had to check on Aurora, just to be sure.

She walked around the side of the house, careful to be silent. The western wall of the house was covered with a trellis that had vines full of small flowers growing on it. They smelled sweet and that made her smile. Aurora should always be surrounded by beauty. Her room would be on the top floor, like any good princess. Mulan looked at the trellis and was suddenly glad she was not weighted down by her armor. She planted her boot on the first rung of the wooden trellis and it held her weight. She climbed the side of the house as quickly and quietly as she could. Looking for a sleeping princess, if Phillip had been at her side, it would be just like old times.

She eased herself onto the roof and saw that there was only one window that she could get to. She pressed herself to the wall beside the window. She peeked around the window and went still. The body lying in the bed was achingingly familiar. Aurora lay sleeping, and from what Mulan could see in the moonlight, it was not peaceful. She had fallen back into the fire realm. No! She sank her fingers into the small gap between the window and it's sill. She grit her teeth and the window slid up with a small squeak of protest. She entered the room silently and slid to her knees beside Aurora's bed. The princess's face was lined with worry and pain. A small whimper escaped her lips and Mulan felt as though she had been elbowed in the chest. She reached into the pouch that rode on her sword belt and brought out a small stub of a candle. She remembered Snow's words and lit the candle with a match and shaky fingers. She paused for a moment then went back to her pouch. An incence stick quickly joined the candle on the bedside table. She pressed the stick into the already softening wax and smiled when it stood on its own. She lit it using the candle, then blew out the flame. Fragrant smoke started to rise and Mulan smiled. She reached out and allowed herself to stroke Aurora's cheek. "A light to guide you home and jasmine and amber to soothe you, my princess." There were words she would never say to Aurora were she awake.

Aurora smiled in her sleep and her face smoothed, her nightmare had come to an end.

"Phillip."

She would never be hers. Mulan stroked the woman's cheek and pushed the strand of hair back and behind the woman's ear. She tugged the blanket up over her shoulder. She padded softly back to the window and let herself out. She closed the window and stood still for a moment, crouched outside the window, staring in at the woman that would never ever be hers.

She dropped over the side of the house and hoped she could find her way back to Belle's lodging.

Had she stayed a moment longer she would have seen Aurora roll in her sleep. One bare arm broke out of the covers and in the midst of her slumber, reached for something or someone that was not there. Princess Aurora whimpered out the warrior's name before falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.


	12. Chapter XI: I Love You, Kid

Chapter XI

I love you, Kid

_She was jerked awake by two tiny feet impacting something that felt very close to her bladder. "Jesus, Kid, could you just stop?" She eased off her bunk and pushed her uniform blue pants down and relieved her now screaming bladder into the lidless stainless steel toilet that was two feet from her bed. She hated the fact that her toilet was so close to where she slept, but for a pregnant woman it was actually kind of convenient. Especially if you were pregnant with the next freaking David Beckham. _

_Emma Swan had never imagined herself pregnant, she didn't want kids. Of course she had never imagined herself being in jail, either. She had always been a step ahead of the cops, a little bit smarter, and a little bit faster. Now she was pregnant and in jail, both at the same damn time. _

"_Your mother is a major fuck-up, Kid." She laid her hands on her seven-months-along-stomach and sighed. She was, according to the nurse-practitioner that the jail paid to keep the inmates more-or-less healthy, having a boy. She looked at the black and white sonogram print out she had taped to the gray wall above the bolted-down table and chair that served as a desk. She wasn't sure how the woman could tell what gender the Kid was, the picture looked like a black and gray blob to her. The kinda-person-looking blob that was inside her. Her son. Fuck. Fuck Neal. Fuck jail. Fuck being pregnant. This was not how her life was supposed to go. This was not how she wanted any kid of hers to live, either. Which was why there was no way in hell she was keeping this kid. What could she offer him? She was a teenage convict with no high school diploma or strictly legal talents or skills. He would end up in the system so fast that it wasn't even funny. That was definitely not happening. Her Kid was not going to grow up like she did. He was not going to bounce from home to home where no one cared about him. He was not going to be someone's paycheck._

_If she put him up for adoption at birth, with one of the fancy-schmancy private adoption firms he would get a real family. He would grow up being loved and cherished and would never know that he'd been born in jail to an idiot. She had studying to do, she was working on her G.E.D., but she went back to her bunk instead._

_Her Kid was going to be adopted by a great family, she told herself. A Dad who taught him to throw a baseball and ride a bike. He would have one of those 9 to 5 jobs where he had to wear a tie and signed off on paperwork all day. Like a lawyer or an accountant. He would be mild and respectable, he would volunteer to lead the Kid's Boy Scout troop. He would have a mom. She closed her eyes and tried to picture it. A pale yellow nursery decorated with the alphabet and soft and fuzzy animals. There would be a crib, and a rocking chair by a window that looked out over a huge green yard with trees for forts and flowers for picking. Though it was totally old school, his mom would be a stay-at-home one. She would cook and bake and dedicate her life to her son. She would sew his Halloween costumes and spend hours reading to him. _

_Sleep started to sneak up on her and Emma smiled as she surrounded to it. Her Kid would be happy, surrounded by nice people in some little po-dunk town where no one locked their doors and the Sheriff didn't do anything but eat doughnuts. Like that old black and white TV show, the one with whistling. _

_Hopes slowly gave way to dreams and Emma found herself in the yellow nursery. A warm, gorgeous voice, met her ears first and she turned to see a brunette woman in the rocking chair she'd imagined. There was a baby in her arms and she was singing him to sleep. Emma hadn't been sung to sleep often, not since her first family had shipped her back, but she knew some lullabies, the old standards. This was not one she knew of. It was slow, and melodic, and in a different language. Was that Spanish? She didn't know for sure. _

_What she did know was that the woman was her Kid's mother and she was perfect. _

"_I love you so much, my Little One." _

_And Emma loved him too, completely._

_The baby had fallen asleep in her arms and the woman rose to lay him down in the crib. Emma caught sight of her face and was amazed at the beauty, joy and sadness she found there. She reached out to touch the other woman, to comfort her. She didn't want her son's mother to be sad. Only happy. She wanted to see the woman's perfect red lips, the scar only added to their appeal, stretch into a smile. _

"_Swan!"_

_The guard barked her name and she jerked awake, back in her gray cell once more. The dream started to evaporate almost immediately and was gone by the time her sock-clad feet touched the cold concrete floor. _

"_Time for lunch, Preggo."_

_She rolled her eyes at the guard's stupid joke and stood up. Hopefully The Kid wouldn't protest today's lunch selection too much. _

"Mom."

She was rudely shaken out of her sleep by someone's hand on her shoulder and she rolled away from the asshole that was disturbing her. Could they not see she was trying to sleep?

"Mom."

Christ Almighty, somebody was about to get her boot up their ass.

"I'm sleepin', go away."

The hand descended again, "But it's after noon and you _promised_ to take me to the stables today."

Reality crashed in on her. Emma cracked open an eye and all she could see was Henry's face about six inches away from her own. She let out a groan and started to sit up. Everything hurt. Snow, David, Henry and she had come home after the Diner and had settled in to watch _The Avengers_. They had been halfway through the movie, and she'd been into the action. Crazy fight scenes were awesome when you weren't apart of them. Then her phone had rung. Some of the Dwarves had taken the party down to The Rabbit Hole and a friendly discussion had devolved into a brawl. David had started to get up, but she waved him off, she was the Sheriff, after all.

How exactly a discussion about The Pats versus The Giants had turned into a huge brawl was beyond her. She hadn't realized that fairy tale creatures even followed football, let alone felt so passionately about it. She had waded into the middle of everything and had caught a stool across her back for her trouble. Grumpy had a wicked strong swing, probably thanks to all that diamond mining. He, and a few other assholes, were currently cooling their heels down at the station under Ruby and David's watch. She had stumbled home, her fists and ribs aching, at about six in the morning and had hoped to sleep for ever.

She squinted at the clock and saw that it was 12:15. What the hell was Henry doing home from school in the middle of the day? Also why did her eyes burn like fire? She twisted around and put her feet on the floor. She had fallen asleep with her contacts in again. Her eyes, crappy vision wasn't genetic it was apparently all hers, still hadn't recovered from her jolly adventures in The Enchanted Forest. 1-800 Contacts did not deliver to fairy tale lands and she'd been stuck in the same pair the entire time. It had become a pretty bad problem towards the end. The left contact had torn a little and had rubbed against her eye like sandpaper. She had seriously considered taking them out, but being half-blind in the forest hadn't seemed like a great idea at the time.

Henry followed her downstairs and into the bathroom. Kid had little concept of personal space, apparently. She looked in the mirror and winced at what she saw. She looked like Hell. She washed her hands and then started to fish in her left eye for her contact. It was such an ingrained habit at this point that it took little to no thought.

"What are you doing home in the middle of the day?"

Henry sat on the edge of the bathtub and she could see him shrug in the mirror. "Half day."

She should have known that. God, there was so much going on with that school. Was there some kind of schedule or something? Snow should have told her. Emma switched to her right eye and sighed audibly. No, she was Henry's mother. She should have known he only had a half day at school. Ugh, she sucked at being a responsible adult, and she definitely sucked at being a mom.

She reached, almost literally blindly, and grabbed her eye drops. She felt almost instant relief when she dropped the visene into her eyes. She really didn't want to put in a fresh set of contacts, but had no choice. Well, there was a choice, but she didn't want to be blind all day. She really needed to invest in a new pair of glasses for days like this.

"Oh. Yeah, I remember now." Liar.

"So we can go to the Stables. I want to show you my horse."

Oh yay, she had never been around horses, but assumed that she would hate them. She and animals didn't tend to get along well. Especially animals big enough to stomp you to death before prancing away.

She put her contacts in with a practiced finger and blinked until her vision lined up properly.

"Sure, Kid, sounds fun." Big fat liar.

She loved Henry, though, so she would do this.

She turned in time to see his face split into a huge grin and he wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed hard.

Yeah, she would do just about anything to see her son smile at her like that.

It was a short drive to the Stables, of course everything was a relatively short drive in Storybrooke. She listened with half an ear as Henry proceeded to tell her every single detail of everything David had told him about or he had done with his horse. Kid was excited. When she parked her Bug at the Stables, Henry was unbuckled and out the door before she had even turned the car off. She followed at a far more sedate pace, because if she had to run today she would probably die. Her back was killing her. She wrinkled her nose as she got closer. Horse shit. She smelled literal horse shit. The only time she'd ever smelled it before was on Parade Days when the cops on horses came through. This was allot worse than that. It wasn't all bad, though, she supposed. There was also the smell of hay and wood chips and what she assumed was horse.

She followed the sound of Henry's excited voice, but stopped and had to move to the side when a man leading a horse came through. She didn't recognize the stable dude, but he nodded to her as if he knew her. The horse made her step back an extra bit. It was huge. Huge and black and it looked at her like she was delicious sugar cube just waiting to be gobbled up. It snorted at her, it wasn't a nice sound.

"Don't mind him, Sheriff, he's just temperamental."

He clucked his tongue, "C'mon Tencendur, let's get you out for your run."

She watched the man and the horse walk away and prayed Henry's horse wasn't as huge or mean looking. Surely not. He was just a little boy. He should be riding something out of _My Little Pony. _The beast that walked by her looked like it belonged in a rodeo, bucking some cowboy off it's back. She hated horses. The only other horse she'd ever been around had been the one she had been tied to and that hadn't been fun either.

She found Henry in a stall with a much smaller, way nicer looking, horse. Or was it a pony? She wasn't actually sure if there was a difference. Henry, all smiles, told her the horse's name but she immediately forgot it. "Hey" she paused, "Horsey." He looked nicer then the big black one, but who knew what horses thought? The horse seemed to like Henry, though.

"I'm going to go take him for a walk, do you wanna come?"

Take him for a walk? Like a dog? Well, anything was better than riding him, she supposed.

"Sure."

Henry lead the horse, by the reigns, out of a large fenced in yard. Emma looked around cautiously and was happy to find that all the other horses, the big black bruiser included, were safely behind other fences. It was just her, The Kid, and his horse. She could deal with that. They walked all the way around the yard and then circled it again. Henry talked the whole time and Emma sunk her hands into her pockets and listened.

"So Grampa says he has to trust me before I ride him because a Knight and his Steed are a team."

Well, she grinned, David would know all about being a Knight in Shining Armor. "Yeah, he's pretty knowledgeable about that stuff."

"Well, he is Prince Charming."

She grinned, Kid had her sense of humor.

"So-" She sidestepped a pile of what she was pretty sure was horse shit, "it's been a busy few days. How are you holding up?"

He had been having crazy fire nightmares, watching his grandfather (who was really old enough to be his father) be cursed, watched his mother suck up a crazy death curse and met the princess from his dreams, a warrior woman from a Disney movie and his mother's childhood nurse. Oh and his batshit insane grandmother was now on the scene too. It was allot to take in for her and she was an adult.

"Well I'm really glad you and Snow are back." So was she.

"And Mulan seems really cool. Belle is all excited about having her in town. She told me that her and Mulan once went monster hunting together but it turned out that the monster wasn't really a monster, it was Prince Phillip." Well that hadn't been in the Disney movie.

"And the principal at my school is Princess Aurora's mom." Okay so Queen Leah was the principal of Henry's school. How many Queens were employed at that school, anyway?

"I only wish the _Gypsy_ hadn't come." It wasn't just the word, it was the way Henry said it. He said it with something that was way too close to hate for a little boy.

She was putting a stop to that shit right here and now.

"Henry!"

He paused and looked at her, "What?"

Oh Christ, he sounded exactly like her when she had been a snot-nosed kid who thought she knew everything. Same superior tone, same level of sarcasm, same look in his eyes. Damn.

"I don't want you talking like that." She was his mom and right now she had to lay down the law. She tried to think of what Regina or Snow would say, but came up blank. She was going to have to wing it.

"She has a name and it's Esmeralda. She's really important to your mom and you should respect her."

Henry blinked, "But Grandma and Grampa said that Gypsies are evil and wrong, they're bad people."

She was going to have a talk with David and Snow about this Esmeralda thing.

She went down to one knee and prayed that it was dirt and not shit under her knee.

"Henry you can't do that. Racism isn't cool. You can't judge anybody just based on what someone says. So your grandparents don't like gypsies? I know people who don't like black people and they're called the KKK. It's wrong to dislike anyone based on the color of their skin. Didn't your mom teach you that?"

She sounded like a freaking after school special, only with fairytales thrown in.

He squirmed, obviously uncomfortable, "Well yeah, she said that it's ignorant and immoral to judge anyone based on their race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation." It definitely sounded like something Regina would say. Hell it sounded like a line out of the Town Charter. Maybe it was, she hadn't really read all of it.

"She's right, Henry. Everyone deserves to be treated the same no matter if they're Asian, gay, Catholic or even a Gypsy."

"But" his brow furrowed, "She's evil, they're both evil!"

Emma thought about the woman who had looked at her last night, the woman who had been terrified for her son, and the woman who had been terrified of her own mother. The woman who had begged her to accept an apology. She remembered the woman she had seen in Regina's kitchen. Esmeralda had tended to Regina with a mother's touch. It was sort of awkward, like how she and Snow interacted, but someone who cared that much about another person couldn't be straight-up evil. It was the same reason she knew Regina couldn't be all evil, she loved Henry too much. Evil, true evil, couldn't love.

"Henry, we don't even know Esmeralda. Who's to say if she's evil or good or in-between." The Kid needed to know that there was an in-between. There weren't just saints and sinners in the world, there was a whole group of people who lived in-between those two titles, herself included. "And your mother is not evil."

He started to protest but she cut him off, "Evil people can't love, Henry. Regina loves you more than anything else. She did some bad things, and I'm not saying she is perfect."

Well, physically she was perfection, but the Kid _definitely_ didn't need to know that.

"But she is trying to change. It's hard for her, you know. Everyone treats her like crap and they keep telling her she's nothing but evil and she'll always be evil. When you're told you're no good over and over again, you start to believe it."

She understood how that felt all too well.

"So you start doing things that aren't that good, because hey no one expects any better of you." Was she still talking about Regina?

"Because sometimes the easy way is the bad way. Why work hard and do good when nobody gives a damn?" Okay, she was pretty sure she wasn't talking about _just_ Regina anymore.

"Turning things around, getting on the right path is hard and it hurts and sometimes it's just easier to give up and be the person everyone thinks you already are." How many times had she slipped? Putting her life together after jail had been rough. Tallahassee had been her proving ground. She had stumbled and had no one to help her get back on her feet, but she had done it. Regina could do it too. "So cut your mom a little slack, okay. She's trying."

Henry looked at her, and didn't seem totally convinced, but he nodded.

She stood back up and threw an arm over his shoulder, "Awesome."

This parenting stuff was way harder then it looked on TV.

"So let's finish up with your buddy here, then we can go to Granny's for some food. I am starving."

That cheered him up, as if he hadn't been to Granny's for weeks instead of since just last night.

He led the horse in and Emma lagged behind him, in no hurry to go back into the Stables. Everything she'd said was the God's honest truth. Swear on a stack of Bibles, and all that good stuff. Why had she said it, though? Why did she care what Henry thought of Regina? The woman wasn't exactly mother of the year.

The look on her face, though, when Emma had thanked her for taking care of Henry. The way that she had sounded so damn sad and proud when she'd said Henry was the only good thing she'd ever done. That told Emma exactly what she needed to know and that was why she had defended Regina. Despite her flaws, and there were allot of them, Regina was exactly the kind of mother she had always wanted her child to have.

She caught up to Henry and watched him brush his horse with slow, sure strokes. He looked so happy, healthy and bright. She could have never given him all of this. Had she kept him, he would have lived in some shitty walk-up apartment in some city's rough district. He would go to a crappy under-funded public school and would have learned which gang signs to avoid by now. He wouldn't be the sweet, funny kid he was. He would be street-smart and smart-mouthed and hardened to hardship. He wouldn't be _Henry_. Giving him away, giving him to Regina to raise, had been the best decision she'd ever made.

"I love you, Kid, you know that right?"

He looked up and cocked his head to the side, "Of course. I love you too, Mom."

When she had been pregnant and in jail she had told herself that these were words she'd never hear. Now that she heard them, her heart filled with warmth and love. Her Kid, the little boy she'd carried inside her for nine months, loved her.

It was hard, damn hard, but maybe being a Mom was exactly everything it was cracked up to be.

Author's Note: Took you long enough, Emma.


	13. Chapter XII: Talk It Out

Chapter XII

Talk it Out

Archie enjoyed his morning walks with Pongo. Storybrooke was just beginning to stir, people were starting to wake up and go about their routines. He could smell fresh bread and coffee wafting in the air from Granny's Diner. He could watch Marco rolling his usual assortment of sidewalk items out of the store. The town's children walked towards the school and people were running early morning errands before they started their work for the day. It was all normal, familiar and peaceful. Of course it was familiar, he grinned to himself, he'd only been taking this exact same walk for twenty-eight years. As if on cue, Pongo started to tug on his leash. Archie knew who was waiting by his office door before he saw. Pongo only rushed towards only two people in town and Henry was in school.

Regina Mills stood by his office door. She was dressed in her customary business attire that was covered by a black coat. Though her makeup was just as impeccable as it ever was, he could tell that she had not slept well.

"Good Morning, Regina."

She looked up from the spot on the sidewalk she'd been staring intently at, "Good Morning, Doctor Hopper." Her voice was quiet and low. He switched Pongo's leash to his left hand so he could unlock his door.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

Pongo had no such manners, he nudged Regina's thigh with his nose and all but demanded to be petted. Former Evil Queen or not, Regina was an animal lover. Her hand dropped to Pongo's black and white head and started to scratch behind his ears.

"I was wondering" She looked at him with bloodshot eyes, "if you had a moment to talk to me?"

The last time she had sought him out, she had been forced to use magic to end her fiancé's life. If you could call what Doctor Whale had done to the man life.

"Of course."

They went to his office without another word. He opened that door and stepped inside. Pongo, uncharacteristically, remained outside until Regina entered. When she sat on the sofa, Pongo sat right beside her. Pongo, Archie knew, was very in-tune with human emotions. While he would like to think that was from being around him, it probably had more to do with sitting in on twenty-eight years' worth of therapy sessions. Still, he couldn't fault Pongo this time. Regina Mills was very subdued this morning, something was bothering her. He shut the door, a sign that he was in-session and not to be disturbed, and sat down in his chair.

He hadn't spent much time with Regina, but knew that the woman _needed_ to be in control, so he said nothing and let her go at her own pace.

"I received some disturbing information last night."

Her level of formality indicated that she was very uncomfortable with whatever news she had been given.

She took a deep breathe, "My mother is in Storybrooke."

Ah, Cora. He had heard this news himself, but he wasn't sure what to do with it. He had never met or heard of the woman. He knew that she was Regina's mother and that Snow and Emma had difficulties with her in the Enchanted Forest, but that was all.

"And how does that make you feel?" It was a clichéd question, but sometimes the simplest and most antiquated questions worked the best.

"Like I should grab Henry and run far, fast, and never look back."

He felt his brows raise in response. The way Regina spoke, the quickness of her answer and the emphasis on running. This was fear. This was a very deep seated fear that had manifested at the very mention of Cora Mills. That Regina's first instinct was to run and not fight was very telling. This was the woman who had fought two different armies at the same time without breaking a sweat. If he knew anything about Regina Mills, it was that she was a fighter by nature.

"You think she would hurt Henry?"

There was a flash in Regina's eyes and he recognized it as another sign of fear. He had seen this before, when he and Henry had been in the mine. The look on Regina's face when she had seen Henry, the stark fear of a mother who wasn't sure if her child was safe, was back. Only this time it did not fade. Regina was genuinely afraid for Henry and herself.

"Yes."

He did not need to ask if Cora had hurt Regina. He already knew that she had been the one to kill Regina's Daniel. There was more, though, to the story. Regina would not be this afraid if the Daniel incident had been the only one. He had received his degrees and knowledge via the curse, but he also had instincts and he'd had those his entire life. He knew how it felt to have your mother smack you for no reason. He knew that words could hurt just as much as a smack. He recognized the fear and the shame of a fellow survivor of child abuse. He also knew that any sign of pity or empathy on his part would make Regina close up and leave. He had to play this very carefully.

"What can you tell me about your relationship with your mother?"

Regina's hand paused on Pongo's head and a single dark brow rose. "Why Doctor Hopper, how very Freudian of you."

Most people underestimated Regina's intelligence and didn't understand her wit. He was not one of them. He grinned at her remark, "We can talk about cigars and sex dreams later if you'd like, Madame Mayor."

A smile, small but a smile none the less, flashed across her face and Regina relaxed just a little.

He wanted to punch the air in victory, this was the most he had seen her relax.

Her face darkened a little, "My relationship with my mother is-"She closed her eyes for a moment, and he would bet a great deal of money that the images that were playing across her mind's eye weren't pleasant. "complicated."

He was about to lose her again. He could see it in the way her shoulders stiffened.

"And Esmeralda?"

The change of subject was abrupt and unexpected and for a moment he thought Regina may leave. She didn't. She relaxed again and he smiled. He was actually not too bad at his job, cricket or no.

"Esmeralda", another small smile graced her face, "was the best part of my childhood."

Archie hooked one ankle over the opposite knee. They had never spoken of Regina's childhood.

"And did she teach you the Old Ways?"

Regina nodded almost shyly. The Old Ways were called that for a reason, most of the people of the Enchanted Forest no longer believed in them, many did not even know of them. He had heard of the OId Ways because his family had been gypsies in the truest sense of the word and they had met members of many Romani Clans. Some of his fondest memories were of nights spent around Romani campfires listening to their stories.

"That must have been interesting for you. The Old Ways cast an entirely different light on actions, consequences and well, every interaction between two people. The Romani believe in redemption and the balance of dark and light. I think those ideas have impacted your life far more than even you realize."

Had he stepped over the line? It was important not to push the envelope with patients at the beginning of their treatments. Especially patients who had legendary tempers and could throw fire balls..

Regina blinked, "I-"

Here it came. He fought against his very natural instinct to flinch.

"I had never thought about it like that."

Regina had stopped scratching Pongo's head so he laid it in her lap.

"I've been trying to redeem myself, for Henry." She trailed off for a moment, lost in her own thoughts, "but I'd forgotten that the Romani reserve honor for those who struggle to return to the balanced path."

Archie nodded, now that he had her mind on that track he could try something he'd been thinking about for a while. "The balanced path doesn't mean perfection, Regina. It doesn't mean not making mistakes and being an unblemished saint. It means keeping the dark and light within you balanced. It means repaying every evil deed with an act of good. Redemption is not the destination, it is the journey."

Regina blinked at him, she obviously recognized the old Romani proverb.

"This is known."

Her lips curved into a smile as she spoke and he returned the smile.

They had made a definite break through.

* * *

David Nolan walked from the Sheriff's Office to Granny's Diner. What a day, he'd finally released the prisoners from last night's fight. It just wasn't worth the effort, the headache or the paperwork to hold them anymore. Grumpy, hung over and surly, had been especially bad. If Emma didn't like it, she could take guard duty next time. He immediately felt bad about that thought. He should have gone to the Rabbit Hole in the first place. Someone had hit _his daughter_ with a stool. His mind replayed the conversation he'd had with Stephen the night before. Emma was a princess and a woman, maybe being the Sheriff wasn't really a good fit for her.

"You look like you're thinking some very serious thoughts."

He smiled. Snow had been waiting on him on Granny's Patio. She was wearing a blue jacket and a white hat and she looked so beautiful that his knees went just a little weak. Just like they always had. He had married the most beautiful woman in this or any other world.

"Nothing that can't be shelved until later."

He crossed the distance between them and took Snow into his arms and kissed his wife for all he was worth. Their lips fit together perfectly and he felt every inch of his skin break into goose bumps. He wrapped his arms around his wife and smiled into the kiss when he felt her arms loop around his neck.

"Ugh." They broke apart at the exclamation and turned to see Smee, red woolen cap and all, walk past them with a scowl on his face. "You two are nauseating."

They should have been insulted but when Snow started to snicker, he couldn't help himself, he laughed. Sometimes it was good to be reminded that he and Snow weren't just rulers, they were people too. He was a hungry person. He looped his arm around Snow's waist, "Come on, let's get something to eat. I have been dealing with a hung over dwarf for far too long today."

Granny's Diner was doing its usual share of business. It was a little early for lunch, just a few minutes before noon, and David was more than ready for lunch. He and Snow sat down in one of the booths and Snow turned around to speak to Doc for a moment. He looked around. He didn't see Ruby. He did another sweep and saw the brunette staring out of the window with a blank look on her face.

"Hey Ruby."

The woman actually jumped. He had known Red or Ruby as she preferred to be called now, a long time. Not as long as Snow had known her, but when you fight a war beside someone you learned a few things about them. One thing he knew about Ruby was that she was never surprised. No one could startled the usually alert werewolf.

"You okay?"

She came over to their booth, a smile firmly in place, "Just a little tired, sorry guys."

Snow smiled at her best friend, "Don't worry about it, Rubes. The whole Storybrooke Police Force is pretty wiped out today."

"Yeah."

Ruby didn't sound convinced and her eyes darted to the door when it opened again. It was almost as if she was looking for someone specific.

"So" David cleared his throat a little, "I will have a burger with the works, fries and coleslaw on the side." He grinned at his wife and could almost hear her lecture about proper nutrition coming. "And a Cherry Coke."

It was his standard order and Ruby didn't even bother to write it down. She only turned her attention to Snow. He watched the two of them interact, watching for anything different. There was nothing. Ruby seemed like she was back to normal. She made a joke about Snow's order, a Caesar Salad and the Soup of the Day with a Diet Coke, and sauntered off to put their orders in without a hitch in her step. Maybe she was just tired.

He was about to go to the men's room when Granny came up to them.

"Have you two seen today's paper?"

He blinked, he usually read the paper, but had been at the Station and hadn't gotten a chance to look at the Storybrooke _Daily Mirror_.

"No, why?" Snow furrowed her brow, "is there something in it about Emma and me coming back?"

It was the only thing she could think of that had been newsworthy lately.

"Not exactly."

Granny slapped the paper on their table.

"What the _Hell_?"

Snow rarely cursed, but David found himself thinking far saltier words when his eyes fell on the bold headline that stretched across the front page:

"Prince Charming a Fraud!"

A picture of himself and Snow was on the top left but the rest of the page, above and below the fold, was devoted to the story. His story, to be exact. The real one. It started with how his parents traded his twin brother, Prince James, to Rumplestiltskin for their farm and continued on from there. It spoke of his humble life as a shepherd and of the deal he struck to become his dead brother. It even spoke of how he had slayed Midas's dragon and courted his daughter. It briefly touched on his and Snow's fiery and frustrating first meetings and how he had broken his engagement to Abbigail. His days of being a so-called outlaw were touted. Snow White's illicit lover, it called him. It named him a traitor to his own people and spoke of how he had sold himself to The Evil Queen in exchange for his life.

It wasn't all lies, of course. He had pretended to be James for a very long time. Still, though, it didn't say anything about Frederick and how Abbigail had been more than happy to break their betrothal. He definitely hadn't betrayed his people, exactly, he'd just defied King George. As for being sold to Regina, he sure as hell hadn't done that. She had saved him from execution, that was true enough, but it had been to use him against Snow. Snow. His hands crumpled the side of the paper. It implied that they had been in some kind of unsavory and torrid affair. She was his true love! They had been married by Sir Lancelot before they'd ever made love.

Page Two was dedicated to their struggle against The Evil Queen, and it painted him and Snow as villains just as blood thirsty as Regina had been. The article practically laid the blame for the Dark Curse at their feet. The article continued by remarking on his coma then his rocky faux marriage to Katherine. When the article referred to his finding Mary Margaret as adultery he threw the paper down.

"This is _crap_."

He couldn't believe people were allowed to print such lies. He stood up, food forgotten.

"What are you doing?"

He looked at his wife and she was stock still, her doe eyes wide and her skin a shade or two paler than usual.

"I'm going to go down to the paper and kick whoever wrote this piece of filth in the throat."

He all but growled out the answer and was suddenly very glad that he had left his gun at the Station under lock and key.

"That's not going to fix anything, David."

Snow looked around and he suddenly remembered that they were very much in public and that every eye was on him.

"Those are lies, Snow."

Her eyes flicked away from his, "Not all of it. Those things did happen."

He clenched his fists, "But not the way they're making them out. It's making us out to be-"He sputtered to a stop, he didn't even have words.

"Like a prince and a princess who eloped without their parent's permissions and broke a vital alliance between two kingdoms and then went to war with another?" Snow smiled weakly, "That's exactly what we did."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "_Regina_ did this."

This was exactly the kind of thing she would do. She had run a smear campaign against Emma using exactly this kind of tactic.

"No" The Evil Queen herself stood at the Diner door, "she did not."

Regina crossed the room and everything was silent. Her heel clicks could be heard all over the room. "What would I have to gain from this?" She waved her hand over the paper and shook her head, "This is, to use a cliche, old news."

Snow narrowed her eyes, "So you know about it?"

Regina shrugged, "I saw the headline, the rest is relatively easy to discern."

David turned to face the woman head-on, "So why did you do it?"

"Are you _deaf_?" Regina snarled the word at him, "I have no reason to print articles like this and if you haven't noticed I hold no power over the paper or any other part of Storybrooke now."

She turned to stand in line at the counter, "You better ask yourself how many other people in our quaint little town hold a grudge against you and go talk to them."

He opened his mouth to defend himself, but then closed it again. He looked to Snow and could tell that she was thinking the same thing he was. If it hadn't been Regina, the most obvious suspect, then there was only one other person who knew the story and hated him. King George.

He sat back down and tried to ignore Regina, even when he was positive that he heard her mutter "Idiot." under her breathe.


	14. Chapter XIII: Hello Again, Dearie

Author's Note: 150 reviews?! You guys are amazing, thanks so much!

Chapter XIII

Hello Again, Dearie

"_Can I eat one, Nan?" Esmeralda carefully inspected the tree's very first fruits. The tree was six years old, like Regina, and though it was unusually early for a Honey Crisp to bear fruit so early, she was not surprised. She plucked one of the bright red apples from the tree and wiped it on her cloak to remove any dirt._

"_Yes, Nightingale, it is your tree so you should be the one to enjoy its fruit first."_

_Regina, bright and beautiful, grinned and took the apple with a laugh. Happiness sparked in her dark brown eyes. "Can we pick one for you and Daddy too? You planted it for me when I was a baby."_

_They had. She remembered it like it had happened only days instead of years before. She had cut a honey crisp apple into half and she and Henry had each taken a bite. Then she slid her dagger across each of their palms and let their intermingled blood fall on the flesh of the apple. She carefully bound the wound on Henry's hand, then her own. She had turned to Regina, sleeping peacefully on her cloak and the fragrant grass of the meadow she had spread it across. She had very carefully cut a lock of silky black hair from the baby's head and then laid a kiss on her smooth forehead. _

"_By binding the blood of those who love her and the babe's essence to this tree, it will provide a tether for her soul. So long as she tends to this tree, she will never be completely lost." Henry held the apple as she curled the hair around the fruit's seeds. _

"_And she will have a connection to us, to the love we feel."_

_Henry smiled at her as he spoke and his closeness made her heart clench in a way that she had sworn it never would again. _

"_Yes." Her words had been little more than a whisper. They knelt together and carefully planted the half of the apple with the seeds that would grow into a tree. When Henry's fingers brushed against hers as they resettled the dirt, she felt her skin tingle._

"_It's good, Nan!"_

_Regina's voice shook her out of her thoughts. _

"_Of course, it is as sweet as you are, My Little One."_

_Regina's giggle was like music to her ears._

"_Oh I don't know about all of that."_

_A man in a black cloak appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and Esmeralda immediately pulled Regina behind her. _

"_Reveal yourself."_

_There were few people foolish enough to come onto a Noble's private lands unannounced. There were fewer still that would risk angering the Prince's wife. Cora practiced dark magic, this was known. When the intruder pushed back his hood, Esmeralda felt her blood turn to ice in her veins. _

"_Little One, take your father an apple."_

_She had to get her little girl away, now._

"_But I should greet our guest, Mother says that a Lady should always be graci-"_

"_Now." _

_Her voice hardened and she spoke harshly. She hated speaking to Regina so roughly, she got enough poison and cruelty from Cora, but she would not tolerate arguments, not now._

"_Okay."_

_She took her apple and another and stomped off towards the barn where Henry was tending to his beloved horses._

"_And they say the Romani are famed for their hospitality." His voice was mocking and irreverent, and carried a subtle insult._

_She waited until she knew that Regina was out of earshot._

"_You are not welcome here, Dark One."_

_He clapped his hands and laughed, it was a chilling sound devoid of true joy. It sounded cruel and mirthless, much like Cora's laugh._

"_Oh, but I am. Where do you think the girl's mother learns all her nasty little spells from?"_

_Esmeralda narrowed her eyes. She was not surprised that Cora held court with the Dark One, but knowing the beast had been so close to her precious Little Nightingale made her temper kick up in her chest._

"_You will not touch that little girl."_

_He moved like lightening, in a blink of an eye he had her pinned against the tree, his hand on her throat._

"_That little girl has a destiny far beyond what you can see, Soothsayer. She is already mine, Dearie."_

_His words were venomous, his breathe hot, his spittle spattered against her cheek. She did not flinch. _

"_I am not afraid of you, Dark One."_

_She should be, The Dark One was an ancient being, descended from and powered by the very first act of evil. This was the terrible being that her people feared above all others. This was the boogey-man of their nightmares and the ominous villain of every fireside tale. Every rational part of her being told her to be afraid of him. She was not. His odd gold skin was slimy and warm, like a toad's. His eyes were feral, like a wild cat and his desperation, his carefully hidden cowardice, shined through his bravado. _

"_You should be. The only thing keeping you alive right now is my amusement." He tightened his grip on her neck but she did not allow herself to gasp for air or fight his grasp. She would not even kick her feet when they left the ground. This was a battle of wills and she refused to surender._

"_Only a coward" She forced the words through her abused and constricted throat, "would attack an unarmed woman and child. Are you a coward, Dark One? Is that why you slink around in the shadows making deals, because you are too afraid to dirty your own hands with real men's work?"_

_She was playing a dangerous game now. She came from a long and strong line of Soothsayers, and her magic was powerful, but she was a rank amateur compared to the Dark One and they both knew it._

_He leaned close enough so that his nose almost touched hers. She wrinkled her nose in protest at his proximity. He is a loathsome, deranged and despicable creature. She, and all her people, cursed his name. _

_He was glaring at her, challenging her to try to free herself. Why waste her energy fighting a battle she couldn't win?_

"_You are a brave woman, aren't you, Esmeralda? Tell me are you truly willing to die here and now? For her? You served as her soothsayer, you know Regina is mine. She has always been and will always be mine. You know what she will do. Why do you defend her? It is against everything your people stand for."_

_Names have power and he wants her to know that this was not a random meeting. He had planned this._

"_You know nothing of me or my people, Rumplestiltskin."_

_Names have power and she feels a tingle of victory when he loosened his grip and stepped back. He had not expected her to know his name. _

"_This is not over, Gypsy."_

_He raised his hood again and she squared her shoulders and stood to her full height, "Not for many years, Dark One."_

_He disappeared in a black cloud and all of her strength left her. _

_It took minutes, only a handful, for the clatter of hooves to catch her attention._

_The image, Henry astride his chestnut hued steed, was one that had always calmed her. He all but leapt from his saddle and she found herself wrapped in his arms._

_That was when she let herself tremble. That was when she let the tears come. _

_She felt hands, calloused but gentle, in her hair._

"_Did he hurt you? Oh Spirits, did he hurt you, My Love?"_

_Henry was everything she had ever wanted. He was intelligent, kind, loving and he had a gentle, understated strength that most did not recognize or understand. He was also married and a Prince. They could never be together, and yet she loved him. She loved him with all of her heart and soul. He was Regina's father, and from the moment they had met she had known that they were destined to love and lose each other. Their story was not one of Regina's storybook tales, it was a tragedy waiting to play out. _

"_Yes." She could not, would not, lie to Henry._

_He pulled her close and she could smell horses and liniment oil, leather and the faint smell of the cinnamon candies he kept in his pocket for the sweet child they both loved. _

"_I am sorry, Esmeralda. I should have been here to protect you, to keep you both safe." He tightened his arms around her and when she looked up at his face she could see tears swimming in his eyes. His beautiful dark eyes, the eyes he shared with his daughter. No matter what she could always see the truth in his eyes, they betrayed his every thought and feeling. _

"_I am safe now, My Love. Safe with you. This is known."_

_When he leaned in to kiss her, she let her eyes slide shut and savored the closeness and intimacy of the moment. They would never have a Happy Ending, but in these stolen moments she could close her eyes and pretend, and that would have to be enough._

She stared at the building before her, Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop. It looked like any of the other buildings in Storybrooke: plain and unremarkable. She had nothing she desired to buy, sell or trade. She did not want to be here at all. Still, though, it had to be done. The Dark One lived in Storybrooke and he was just as devious and powerful as he'd ever been. Every story her people had ever told of his power had paled in comparison to reality. She was a fool to go to his place of business, his base of power. Her clan had told her she was a fool when she'd left them to be at Henry's side, to raise and protect Regina. Her clan elders had been right, she was a fool. A very brave fool with a past full of misdeeds, deception and a love so powerful that it had allowed her to transcend realms and conquer demons that would have felled others. As powerful as she had become, she was still a lovesick fool.

She stepped into the dim store and scowled at what she saw. Possessions, other people's prized possessions. She did not know every story, but she knew that these things did not belong to the Dark One. The lingering auras of the carefully displayed possessions were plain to her eyes. She saw the cursed parents of the man named Marco, and a dead fairy's wand. She saw tragedy and treachery, all at so-called fair prices.

"Good Morning" The voice, one that often echoed in her nightmares, came from behind a curtain.

"Is there something specific you are looking for-"

His words cut off and the man stopped midstride. Genuine shock lined his very human face. He did not look like The Dark One. He looked like a man with a cane. His skin was neither scaled nor golden, but his eyes were the same: cagey, calculating and cruel.

"Come for the funeral, Dearie?"

His head cocked to the side and he walked, limped, out from behind the high glass counter.

"There has been no death."

He laughed, high and cold, and that was familiar.

"Well I hate to inform you but your precious-"

He chuckled, "What did you call her? Starling, Blue Jay, Albatross, ah yes, Nightingale. Your Little Nightingale is dead, Gypsy. She killed herself to help usher her longtime rivals home. A wasteful, unnecessary, very painful death, I assure you."

She only raised a brow and picked an invisible piece of dust off of her cloak. "You have been misinformed, Dark One. Regina is alive and very well. We had tea this morning before she left her home to see to some things in town."

"That's impossible, Dearie. No one could survive that curse. _ I_ cast it."

His confidence was astounding and faulty.

"My Nightingale did. This is known, to all but you it seems." With her help, but he need not know that detail.

If he was surprised, he hid it well. She didn't bother to look at him, she instead walked around the room. She touched the items and let the auras tell her their stories.

She paused when she came to the baby's mobile, it was made of glass beads and carefully formed and beautifully detailed glass unicorns. She let her fingers tangle in the beads and allowed the item's aura to wash over her. This had been meant for Emma Swan.

"So Her Majesty survived. That begs the question of your presence then. You struck a deal with Cora all those years ago. You swore a blood oath and a Romani never breaks their word. To break a blood oath would quite literally kill you."

She looked at him over her shoulder, "And yet I live."

He came closer, she could hear his cane tap the floor with every step. "You're still too brave for your own good, Esmeralda."

She turned slowly on her bare heel, "And you're still a coward, Rumplestiltskin."

His fist tightened around the handle of his cane, as if he wanted to swing it at her.

"I won't have to do anything, Dearie. Cora will hunt you down and kill you for breaking your deal with her."

Her eyes narrowed and rage caught fire in her chest, "I" Her words were just as hot as the inferno of anger in her, "did not break our deal. _She_ did. Now I am back at Regina's side and I will let nothing and no one hurt her."

This was the only warning she was going to issue him.

"I will stand against Cora. She will not hurt My Nightingale ever again."

He smiled, it was a slow and crooked gesture that sat uneasily on his face. "You and what army, Dearie?"

Esmeralda felt her own lips tug into a small smirk, "I need no army."

She walked back toward the door, "Interfere and you will meet your end, Rumplestiltskn."

Her voice was cold and hard, and she meant every word she said. This was no threat, it was a promise.

"We'll see, Gypsy."

She left his shop without uttering another word. As soon as she was outside, in the sunshine, she let out the breath she had been holding for what felt like ever.

The Dark One was just as powerful, devious and intimidating as he'd ever been. She still did not fear him, but knew that her provocation had been a silly mistake. She had let her pride take over and it would most likely prove to be a costly mistake. She had traveled the realms and had never met a more dangerous and powerful being. She knew better then to jab at him. It was like attacking a giant with a pen-knife. Still, though, she could not stop herself from doing so.

"I am still a fool, Henry." She spoke to the wind and knew that it carried her words to her long dead love. She only hoped, for Regina's sake, that her foolish actions played out as she hoped they would.

* * *

How dare she? How dare that disgusting Gypsy trollop come into his space and threaten him? He was the Dark One. If the Romani had a devil, that would be him. Esmeralda should have been pissing her skirts, terrified of him. Cowed and reduced to a shivering mass of goo in his presence. He should have killed her years ago, when he'd had her throat in his hand.

Now she was stronger and more confident, and her dedication to Regina had not wavered a bit. Regina. How had the woman survived? She should be dead and gone, a lifeless corpse cloaked in Prada. The spell had been incredibly powerful and deadly. He knew death magic, it was as familiar and comfortable as a favorite pair of boots. He rubbed his hand across his chin and thought for a moment. If it had been him, how would he have saved himself?

Well, obviously he would have syphoned the curse into some other, unsuspecting, person and have them die in his place. If Regina had studied enough magical theory, and he wasn't quite sure if she had or not, she might have been able to repurpose the magic, but the result would have been something very large. Too large for him not to notice. No, something had to have happened. Perhaps she had access to a magic wand. Regina's crypt was just chock full of goodies from the Enchanted Forest, so it was possible.

How she survived was a puzzle he could solve later. He limped to the back of his shop and sat at his spinning wheel. He ran his hand over the smooth and familiar wood of the wheel and let his thoughts wander. How was this going to play out? Cora would undoubtedly want Regina at her side, whether her daughter wanted to be there or not. Hook would come to him, petty revenge on his mind. The Charmings would try to save the day and the rest of the town would fall in line. Or so Charming and Snow assumed they would. He, on the other hand, could read the writing on the wall, or in the newspaper as it was. Now that the other Kings and Queens of Storybrooke were awake and aware again, they were not content to kneel before Snow White and her True Love. George, who had escaped incarceration by hook, crook and, of course a deal, had thrown down the gauntlet. Well, he had metaphorically slapped Charming in the face with it. David Nolan, nee Prince Charming, wouldn't let that go without retaliation. He had little in the way of tact or tactics. He would rush, like an angry bull, at George. Which was exactly what George wanted him to do.

Only George was not quite smart enough to pull this off on his own. No, this positively reeked of Stephen and Leah. More specifically, Leah. Stephen might sit on the throne, but it was no secret that Leah was the real ruler. She had been born and raised in the viper pit of nobility and had taken to politics well. She was educated, sly and light handed. Most people didn't realize she was toying with them until they found themselves penniless, in a dungeon and facing the executioner's ax. Just look, he chuckled to himself, what she had done to Maleficent. Now that had been a true coup, a masterful manipulation, and a great deal of fun to watch.

He was usually content to watch the Royals fight it out, scheming and warring until they were too exhausted and bloody to do anything but marry off two youngsters for peace. This time it might interfere with his plans, though, and that simply would not do. He was too close to finding Baelfire to let a Civil War stop him now.

Civil Wars, Gypsies, Regina's miraculous survival. It was only 12:30 and he'd already had a busy day. Such was the life, he supposed, of The Dark One.


	15. Chapter XIV: Trespassers

Chapter XIV

Trespassers

Killian Jones was a patient man. He had spent lifetimes biding his time, waiting for his chance to skin his crocodile. The injustice of his beloved Milah's death screamed to be set right. It burnt in his veins like cheap rum.

Even today, hundreds of years later, he could see the look on her beautiful face, the horrified agony when the filthy monster had put his hand in her chest and taken out her beautiful heart. His Milah's precious, still beating heart. He still had scars on his chest where he had fought against the rigging that had magically wrapped around him. He had fought so hard to get to her, to stop Rumplestiltskin from hurting her. The hook, the first thing he had laid his hand upon, had freed him. It was no small irony that he had chosen it to replace his severed hand. Had it always been attached to his wrist he would have released himself in time. Only, he'd had two hands of flesh and blood and he'd been too slow. Too late, he had been too late.

He had caught her body, the sweet, supple body that he had mapped so many times with his hands and mouth, and he had held her. If he had only known, in that second, that it would be the last time, he would have held her all the tighter and he would have never let go. She had touched his face, and looked into his eyes that had been his entire world for that last precious moment.

"I love you" Her last words had been her sweet confession of love for him. An orphaned brigand with no claim to fame or position in the world and she had loved him. Why, he had asked himself more times then there were stars in the sky, had he not told her that he loved her too? Just then as he held her in his arms, why had he let his sweet lover die without telling her that he loved her one last time? Then she had been gone. A final gasp and shudder then she had been limp in his arms, her heart dust in the wind. The Demon, the Crocodile, told him that he wanted him to suffer, like he had suffered.

Rumplestiltskin, the murderous coward, could not have suffered, not like he had. He could not have loved Milah because his heart was black and his soul was foul. He had smothered her free spirit and had almost killed the light in her beautiful eyes long before he had crushed her heart. Milah had never been meant for a mundane life as a wife and mother. She, like him, had been born for adventure. She was his heart, his siren, his beloved Pirate Queen. His Milah had been everything to him. Take his hand, take his ship, take the very sea from beneath him, as long as she'd been at his side, he would have been happy.

The Demon had wanted him to suffer? Suffer he had. No matter how many whores he took to bed, no matter how much alcohol he drank, no matter how many men he killed, his love for Miah still burned in his soul, ever bright and as strong as it had always been. She was his strength, she was his weakness. She was his only joy and his deepest despair. She was, if you believed the stories, his One True Love. The Crocodile had taken her, killed the other half of his soul. The good half, the half that had been capable of love and life. Now all he had left was his revenge. His glorious revenge, blood retribution for Milah.

He had waited long enough. He knew, because Cora had told him in that cold, mocking voice that she favored, that the only way to kill The Demon was to puncture his coal black heart with his own enchanted dagger. A steel hook simply wouldn't do, Cora had tutted him. So in the early morning light he stalked across the quaint seaside village of Storybrooke with one destination in mind. The Demon's haven, his little shop. He'd watched the Gypsy visit it the day before through his spy glass. She was a brave thing, not scared of The Dark One, not scared of Cora. There was a thin line between bravery and stupidity and the Gypsy had crossed it long ago. Then again, so had he. His quest for revenge had consumed him, nothing else mattered and his narrow-vision had cost him but he dared not stop. To stop would be to let Milah go, to betray her memory, to abandon his love for her. He could not do that, not then and not now.

Now he had a purpose, a clear step to take in his quest. He had to find the dagger and where else would a coward hide his only weakness? In his safe place, his castle, his beloved little shop full of odds, ends and magical potions. Mister Gold, what a fitting name for the man. His skin, cracked like a crocodile's, had a goldish tint to it. Fool's gold, a hideous shade of mottled and unhealthy yellow. His evil oozed through his very skin, marking him for all the world to see. A yellow-skinned coward with cold eyes and blood on his hands. Milah's blood.

The glass door broke easily under his hook. He could have picked the lock just as easily, but he wants to unleash some of his pent-up fury. A little destruction would do his soul good. Milah had always chuckled when he'd indulged his violent streak. He was, after all, a pirate, she'd said time and time again. He stepped inside and smirked at the sound of his boots crunching the recently shattered glass. It was dim, the only light came through the windows. Still, though, it was more than enough light to search by. He moved through the room, kicking things out of his way as he went. Useless items that meant nothing to no one, he supposed. He wrapped his gleaming hook around a string of crystal beads and unicorns. A baby's mobile, how sweet. He ripped the strands hard enough to snap them and watched the unicorns fall to the polished wood floor and shatter. He walked towards the counter, pausing only long enough to deliver hard kicks to each of the glass display cases. More glass tinkled and fell, and he crunched over it. The register was ornate and over-decorated, but not particularly safe. He wrenched it open in two strikes and scowled at what he saw: paper script and small grubby coins that probably weren't worth the metal the kings' faces were stamped upon. No enchanted dagger. Pity that, he would just need to keep looking. He walked through the room, tearing things off of shelves, running the tip of his hook through the canvas of paintings on the wall, ruining them. Still no dagger.

He stepped into the shop's backroom and felt fury burn through him. The spinning wheel. Milah had told him of the spinning wheel and how it had come to represent everything she had loathed about her life. It was a woman's trade and a coward's tool. His hook jerked thanks to a twitch of his long gone hand. The hand that Milah had held, the hand that had curled in her raven locks, the hand that Rumplestiltskin had cut off with a cackle. A cold smile spread across his bearded face. He may not find the dagger, but he would destroy this shackle and chain that had held his Milah prisoner for so many years.

He kicked it over and the wood hit the floor with a satisfying crack. He did not indulge his rage often, he controlled it and his pain with a tight grip. He softened his fury with smarmy remarks and innuendo. He had always had a smoldering ruffian's charm that had been one of the things Milah had been attracted to. There was no need for that here. He brought his boot down on one of the spokes and chuckled when it broke. He systematically tore the large wheel apart using his boots and hook. How she had hated it, the drudgery and monotony of endless days spent spinning. The only thing she'd ever regretted leaving behind was Baelfire. He brought his boot down on the spinning wheel's broad frame once, twice, three times and it splintered and cracked under his heel.

Baelfire, whom he had betrayed to The Lost Ones. Baelfire who hated him, who had hated his mother for abandoning him. The boy hadn't seen the misery in her eyes, the desperation. Had they not run away together on the Jolly Roger, Milah would have abandoned her son anyway. She had told him, years ago wrapped in his arms that she had been planning to take her own life. The coward's way out, she'd said mirthlessly, just like the husband she'd loathed. Rumplestiltskin had been a soul-sucking demon long before he'd become the Dark One. He grabbed the spinning wheel's needle off of the floor and moved away from the decimated remains of Milah's servitude. He moved through the room, destroying glass vials, tossing them and watching little puffs of smoke rise, magic wasted.

He opened a cabinet and tore through it. Tossing things negligently over his shoulder. Rubbish: papers full of incomprehensible scribbling, more glass vials and books. A wooden box, small and flat caught his attention. It was too small to be the dagger, but he opened it anyway. He had always been a curious little wretch. It was another bottle with a clear liquid in it. He scoffed, it probably wasn't even alcohol. He hurled it against the wall and smiled as the small vial shattered. He tossed the box to the ground and didn't bother to read the small, neat inscription on the inside of the wooden lid: "Tear of a Raped Maiden".

He was not going to find the dagger here. It was not even in the laughably easy to break safe. This merry-making was an enjoyable but ultimately fruitless endeavor. He could continue to make a mess, but there was little point to it now. He walked back out into the shop's main room and reveled in his destruction. He could almost hear Milah's rum-soaked laughter in his ear. Milah. He reached into his coat and removed the drawing. The pen and ink sketch that he'd kept by his heart since the day Bae had thrown in back at him, contempt on his young face. He caressed the line of her cheek on the page. This was all for her. The needle was still in his hand and he looked at the counter and searched for a clean place amongst the broken glass. The register, right where the bloody crocodile could see it. See it and know that his death was coming, that Killian Jones was coming for him. He wanted the sniveling coward to know that Milah was remembered and would be avenged. He pushed the needle through the parchment lovingly, and carefully. He couldn't bear to injure the only likeness of Milah left in any world. Then he shoved the needle into the cash register's metal side. The sound of steel crashing against and through steel was as musical as Milah's voice had been. He left the shop without a glance backwards. He didn't need the drawing, he saw his love every time he closed his eyes. He saw her perfect face staring up at him, pain written in her eyes, her last breath hitching in her chest.

Rumplestiltskin would pay and so would anyone else who dared to try and stop him.

* * *

The Storybrooke Free Public Library had suffered from twenty-eight years of benign neglect. The curse had maintained the building, but its contents had not been updated since its magical creation in 1983. Still, it was Belle's domain and she had gone over every inch of it, scrubbed it down, organized and catalogued it, and she loved it. Truly and dearly, she loved her library and couldn't wait to open it so all the citizens of Storybrooke could love it just as much as she did. She had not lied to Lia Weathersby, there was a very healthy budget to work with. She had stayed up several late nights and balanced it as best she could. If she watched every penny she could bring the reference section up to date, double the size of the children's and young adult selections and tackle at least part of the adult section. Books had not come in so many varieties in their old world. The sheer number of authors and their works was staggering. Not that this world's books were the only thing in the library. She had combed through the stacks and had several volumes set aside for a different sort of collection. Books from their homeland had been brought over. Histories, genealogies, reports and records from the Ogre Wars, religious texts, romances, poetry. The things she had grown up reading, leather bound and familiar. There were also books about magic. Not spell books, exactly, but books of mythology and lore, tales of the fantastic and records of sorcerers and sorceresses of the past. These were the books that made her uncomfortable. Which was silly, she had lived with The Dark One, she shouldn't let a little magic scare her. She was scared, though. Yet she was in the Special Collections Room with Mulan pouring over thick tomes and volumes looking for any information that might help them save Prince Phillip.

Mulan was on the yellow and white tile floor, legs folded under her. She frowned in concentration as she looked through one of the many books they had found with information on Wraiths. They were very mysterious creatures, dark and deadly, feared by almost every culture. Belle thought they looked like Dementors from the delightful Harry Potter books she had read. Though there were many entries in the books about wraiths, they often said the exact same things. They were soul devourers that were linked to a twin-set of medallions. One rode on the Wraith itself and the other marked the victim. Phillip had been marked and when Regina had opened the portal to their Old Realm she had, unwittingly, sent the Wraith strait to Phillip. She wondered if Mulan knew that the wraith's sudden reappearance in The Enchanted Forest was due to the Mayor's actions. She doubted it. If Mulan knew, she would be at the big white mansion on Mifflin street and not here. She looked very different, dressed in Storybrooke's modern attire. It was her attitude, the stoic quiet and seriousness that remained exactly the same. Mulan was a warrior through and through: strong, brave and loyal. She spoke best, she had once told Belle, with her sword.

"Here. This says" Mulan brought the book closer to her face, "That a perfect circle of silver, salt and-"She scowled at the book.

Belle left the table where she had been pouring over old yellowed parchments and leaned over to see what Mulan was struggling with. "Sage. It's an herb."

Mulan nodded her thanks and Belle watched her silently mouth the word over and over, as if committing to memory.

"A perfect circle of silver, salt and _sage_ will protect those inside of it from a wraith."

Belle looked around for the notepad where she'd jotted down anything useful and scribbled down that bit of information. It was good to know that there was something less destructive then fire that would stop the wraith from sucking their souls away. What she really needed was a good patronus spell, but magic was not as simple as that. Life, unfortunately, wasn't as simple as that. The villains didn't always wear black and everyone that wore black wasn't always a villain. Even villains, the darkest and bloodiest of them, had good sides. People weren't sorted into four houses and there were no benevolent half-giants to make sure you were okay. There were only Kings and Queens, she scowled at the memory of the newspaper article, and their battles for dominance.

"You seem distracted."

Belle blinked and refocused her attention on her companion. "I, yes, a little I suppose."

Mulan frowned, "You need to be extra vigilant. Hook and Cora are ruthless and with your connection to The Dark One, you are an obvious target."

Disgust rose in her throat, she remembered Hook all too well. "I've dealt with Hook before. He doesn't scare me."

Mulan unfolded her legs and stood. "He took Aurora's heart. He is more dangerous then he appears to be and Cora is more dangerous still."

Cora, she knew, was Regina's mother, and apparently she was very bad news. She was worse than The Evil Queen, if the rumors were to be believed. The Voldemort to Regina's Malfoy.

"I don't think Cora would be interested in me. I'm just a librarian."

Mulan crossed her arms over her chest, "You are not just a librarian. You are clever, resourceful and you were the prisoner of The Dark One and The Evil Queen and lived to tell the tale. Not many people can say the same." The Chinese Warrior stepped closer, "but trust me when I say that you are no match for Cora. I am no match for Cora. Emma Swan was the only person who was able to stop her and she used magic."

Emma had magic?

"So if either Hook or Cora comes near, run."

Two hands fell on her shoulders and she found herself staring into dark almond eyes. "Promise me."

Belle shifted uncomfortably, "Running would make me a coward."

Mulan gave her a shake, "And not running will get you killed, or worse."

Belle shrugged out of her grasp, "Fine."

Mulan let her arms drop, "If you will not listen to me, maybe I should get your other friend to speak sense to you. Would you listen if your Ruby told you to run?"

Ruby. Belle felt a little lurch in her chest. She _had_ told her to run, during the last full moon. Belle hadn't. She had refused to abandon Ruby in her hour of need. So the other woman had shackled her up and left instead. She had been locked in her own library, worried sick that a mob would corner the woman in her wolf form and kill her. That exact thing had almost happened. Thank God for David Nolan, he had saved the foolhardy, beautiful, too-noble-for-he-own-good wolf woman.

"I don't let anyone dictate my decisions." Anymore, at least.

If she had blinked, she would have missed it, a fast and small smile crossed Mulan's face.

"I saw how you interacted with her, she is not just anyone to you."

Oh this conversation was not happening.

"Don't be ridiculous."

Maybe it was nerves, maybe it was the earlier conversation about Cora and Hook, but when the chimes at the front door rang, Belle jumped. Mulan, of course, did not jump. She twisted with a fighter's instinct and drew her sword, ready to fight.

"I thought you said that your library was not open yet."

She had and it wasn't.

"It might be Marco, I asked him to build some tables and chairs for the second floor."

She knew, in her gut, it wasn't Marco.

"We will see."

The Special Collections Room had originally been a conference room of some kind and it was at the back of the building. She could hear something, someone moving around. The noise echoed through the building. Mulan moved silently along the shelves, sword out and ready.

"Hello?"

Fear made her heart beat a little faster. Nightmare images of Hook and Cora and hearts being ripped from their chests played in her imagination.

"We're not open quite yet." Which the opening soon signs should have told them. There was no answer beside the door chime going off again, indicating whoever had come, had gone. Or that their accomplice had joined them. Adrenaline pumped into Belle's system and she told herself that she was not afraid. She was a very bad liar. Mulan reached the front before she did, and she could hear the other woman's boots come to an abrupt halt.

"Belle, you should come see this."

The Warrior's voice was flat and visions of heartless corpses, she unfortunately knew what one of those looked like thanks to Rumple, danced in her head. When she turned the corner, though, there was nothing. No pile of bodies, no crystalized hearts. No Cora, no Hook. It was just her pristine and orderly library. Mulan's sword was aloft and pointed at the circulation desk. Belle turned her head and prepared for the worst. There was a plate sitting on the counter and a glass beside it. She stepped closer, and found herself smiling. It was a hamburger from Granny's with all of her favorite fixings and a large order of fries and a glass of iced tea with lemon that was still cold enough to have condensation on the glass. If that wasn't enough, the word "sorry" was spelled out in ketchup on the fries.

Ruby. How could she stay mad at the woman?

She couldn't help but smile and could hear Mulan give a small chuckle.

"Oh shut up."

* * *

Purple mist filled the foyer of 108 Mifflin Street. Cora Mills looked around, and took in her new surroundings and sneered. Neither Regina nor Esmeralda had bothered to cast even the most basic protective spells or wards. She was not surprised at the Gypsy whore's incompetence, but expected better of Regina. Then again, why bother? She had given Regina a castle and she had traded it for little more than a hovel on a hill. If this curse was supposed to be her "Happily Ever After" then Regina had less imagination then she did magical ability. She lived in a laughably small house with no servants in a tiny, rebellious fiefdom that had forgotten who their Queen was. Regina had let them forget. She had, apparently, been content to be a mayor, lower than the lowest Lord. She had always thought so small.

Cora began to walk through the home, taking in ever detail. There was not enough color. Everything was black and white, utterly boring. A splash of red always made things more interesting. She loved the vibrant play of red blood on white skin had become one of her favorite color schemes in Wonderland. The realm her dear daughter had banished her too. It would have driven a lesser woman to the brink of madness. Cora was strong and she had not bent or broken, she had twisted the realm to her liking, brought in under her control. The self-righteous citizens of Storybrooke would fall to their knees just as quickly. Regina may have let them run amok and mock her power, but Cora would show them what a true "evil queen" could do.

She walked through the living areas, and avoided the kitchen. That was a room for servants, not queens. She had tried to teach Regina that over and over again, but some lessons never took, no matter how harshly they were delivered. She ran her fingers along plush furniture. This realm was so odd, so full of marvels and comforts. Things that she'd never imagined before, and she had imagined a great many bloody and glorious things. Perhaps Regina's Storybrooke was not all that bad.

She picked up a small portrait, the artists here were very good the image was extremely life-like. Her daughter, hair boyishly short, and her smiling grandson. Adopted grandson, Cora amended. Regina shared the boy with the infuriating Emma Swan. It was, apparently complicated. Was _that _what they called it here? It hadn't seemed very complicated last night when the So-Called-Savior had put her hands on Regina and held her close. It had not sounded so complicated when the blonde had tried to soothe Regina's very legitimate fears. Pulling Regina's hand to her heart hadn't been so complicated, it had been intimate, personal, a lover's touch.

Her daughter had learned _nothing_. These little infatuations and dreams of true love were pointless and would only end in disaster. Love is weakness. Regina's taste had not improved. Stable Boys, huntsmen and now a lowly lawman. A sheriff with a royal pedigree, but a peasants'' ways. Not to mention that she was the granddaughter of Regina's dearly departed husband. That was a tad too scandalous, even for her admittedly eclectic tastes. Not to mention she had given birth to a child out-of-wedlock. That little blunder marked her as someone without proper morals, or at least as a fool without enough sense to rid herself of her shame after rutting around like a common prostitute.

Her shame, though, had become Regina's joy, her beloved son. Cora ran her fingers over the two faces in the portrait, her weakness. She had named the boy after her father, typical. What had Henry ever done for her? What had he sacrificed? His life, his weak and cowardly heart, was the only thing he had ever given her, it had been the least he could do. She had been the one who had ripped her own heart out to provide Regina with her chance at greatness. A chance the foolish girl had squandered. Her enemies, darling Snow and her charming prince, were still alive and well. They had, once again, wrenched Regina's power from her grasp and flaunted it in her face. How could Regina tolerate the humiliation? How dare she let them humiliate her? It wasn't tolerable, it wasn't how a queen should act. She should have squashed both of them under her heel, crushed their hearts to dust, and reminded all of her people exactly who was in charge. Since her daughter was too weak to do it, Cora would have to. Mother always knew best, and it was time Regina was reminded of that. She went up the stairs, and let her hand slide along the polished banister. She went through the upstairs rooms one by one. The room that reeked of cinnamon and gypsy magic had to belong to Esmeralda. Cora resisted the urge to set the room on fire. She had no desire to leave a mess behind her. That would be crude, sloppy, and it would only let Regina know how close she was. Her daughter was not ready to embrace her yet, she would have to continue to bide her time. All good things came to those who took them, but the time had to be right. The next room was messy and full of what she supposed passed as playthings in this new realm. Playthings, books and paper drawings. Henry's room, she supposed. That only left her daughter's chambers.

White, her daughter's chambers were almost blindingly white. White walls, a white bed, white linens, there were touches of color here and there but the overwhelming cleanliness of white dominated the room. Even the unrelieved black of her castle had been better then this. She wandered into the large walk in closet. Here was where color lived in the house: Blacks, grays, reds, royal purples and smoky blues. All these styles were so different. There were trousers and skirts that were cut far shorter then had ever been permitted in their world. There were no long gowns, no corsets and no cloaks. An entirely different wardrobe for an entirely different place.

A mirror dominated the back wall of the closet and Cora stared at it for a moment. Regina's obsessions with mirrors was somewhat disgusting. Vanity had its place, but beauty faded, only power remained. She watched the violet smoke consumer her and in the blink of an eye the mirror reflected a different face. Emma Swan stared back at her from the mirror. Young, cocky, more powerful then she realized and too stupid to take advantage of it. She tilted her head from side to side. Her shape-shifting spell was second nature to her, but taking on a new form always took a moment or two of practice, just to get things exactly right. Smoke filled the closet again and the form she wore was more rugged, clad in leather and foreign. The Eastern Warrior she had fought at Lake Nostos was not known very well here, which meant that none would realize that she was being impersonated. Not that people had ever caught on to her machinations before. She changed forms again, as easy as breathing, and the face of her daughter appeared in the mirror. The short hair, the red lips and the scar that marred them, Regina was an easy form to take.

Manipulation was something she excelled at, she had learned from the master himself. She couldn't see the future like dear Rumple, but she knew very well that there was a reckoning coming. So many royals in one small town would never live peacefully. There were too many power-mongers and not enough power. They would fight amongst themselves, and tire out their resources, so when she was ready it would be easy. With her daughter at her side, it would be a bloodbath.

She smiled and in the mirror Regina smiled back. Her daughter would be hers again and the town, and everything and everyone in it would be theirs. Cora disappeared leaving only amethyst smoke and an echo of a cold chuckle behind.

Author's Note: In my head canon Hook is a little coo-coo for cocoa puffs. I mean he floated around on a ship in Neverland for a LONG time just thinking about his revenge. He hides it underneath the innuendos and the bravado, but on the inside, I think Hook is just as broken as anyone else. I picture Milah as Edna Pontellier from _The Awakening_ with a happy ending…until her estranged husband ripped her heart out and crushed it, I mean. Also, yes, I think one of the first books Belle read when she got out of the Asylum was the Harry Potter series. It's such a perfect fit for her. Also, the dementor/wraith parallel was just too obvious to ignore. As for Cora, well that's what you get when you have no heart. I hope everyone enjoyed this little side trip to check up on some of our supporting characters. Regina, Emma and Henry return in the next chapter.


	16. Chapter XV: Unexpected Discoveries

Author's Note: You guys are amazing, you seriously are the best! Several people asked about this and as some were from Guest reviewers, I will answer here as well. Yes, the vial that Hook threw against the wall was the vial of Regina's tears that Gold used on Snow in "Second Star to the Right". That is all I'm saying right now. As for the multiple comments about Esmeralda's continued safety and well-being…we'll see, Dearies. We'll see.

Chapter XV

Unexpected Discoveries

Henry stabbed his macaroni and cheese with his fork and scowled at it. His Mo-Regina's macaroni and cheese was better. She made it with three kinds of cheese and the swirly pasta that came in different colors and it always had this really yummy crust on it because she baked it. Well, at least the school lunch ladies hadn't burnt it. Em-his real mom had actually set a pot of macaroni and cheese, from a box, on fire. Snow had run in and poured baking soda on it and fixed it, but still it had been on_ fire_. He half-heartedly picked at the rest of his food, no more appetizing then the macaroni, and flipped through his book.

No Mulan, no Aurora, no Hook, no Cora and no Esmeralda. He blew out a puff of frustrated breathe. His book had never let him down before. It had always had the answers he needed. He pushed his fingers through his hair. He already knew Aurora's story, and Mulan seemed like a good guy, well girl. He really wanted to know about Cora, Hook and especially Esmeralda. He didn't care what Regina said, he knew she was bad. Regina was the Evil Queen and if Esmeralda liked her, she had to be evil too. He just wished he knew who she was. She had to have a story. He flipped through the pages he had looked at a thousand times already and knew there was nothing there.

"So that's the famous book?"

He looked up sharply, he ate lunch alone, and nobody ever talked to him.

Gretel, or Ava as she demanded to be called, stared down at him and his book. Henry looked around and didn't see Nick, or Hansel.

"He's off with his friends. We don't always have to be together." Ava answered the question without his asking it and he felt foolish for even thinking it in the first place.

Ava sat down beside him without asking and plopped her tray on the other side of the book. "So the curse is broken, why are you still lugging that thing around?"

No one, besides Emma and Archie, had ever cared about the book or his interest in it. It was kind of neat but weird. What could it hurt, though? No one thought he was crazy anymore.

"I'm trying to figure out who the Gypsy Esmeralda is. She got here with Mulan and Aurora and I think she might be evil."

"I thought the pirate and the witch were the evil ones."

Henry blinked, how had Ava known about Cora and Hook?

"Everyone knows, Henry. It's kind of a small town and the Dwarves all have really big mouths." She shrugged, "Well except for Doc, I mean."

Ava tossed her blonde braid over her shoulder. "But seriously, you haven't figured it out yet?" She rolled her eyes, "And you're supposed to be some sort of genius with this stuff."

He slammed his book shut, "Oh and _you _know who she is?" Ava hadn't even known who_ she_ was until his mom broke the curse.

"Duh."

He crossed his arms over his book and raised a single eye brow. He had spent weeks and weeks practicing the move in the mirror when he'd been six. He knew it was silly, but at the time he'd wanted to be able to raise his eyebrow because his mo-Regina did so often. Now that he was older, and wiser, he knew that this particular Evil Queen movement intimidated people. She did it to make people tell her things she wanted to know, even if they didn't want to tell her.

"Stop that!"

A hard punch landed on his shoulder and he jerked away, "Ow!"

"You look like _her _when you do that."

Apparently he had gotten a little too good at raising his eyebrow. "Sorry."

Ava stood up, "Whatever. If you're too stupid to have figured it out by now, then I'm not going to tell you."

He was not stupid.

"Fine, whatever. I'll figure it out. I was the one who figured out the curse anyway. No thanks to any of you."

She looked like she was about to punch him again. "You only figured it out because someone gave you that stupid book. If you hadn't had that you would still be a confused little boy who's upset because he found out he was adopted. Boo-hoo, poor little rich kid who has everything but a Daddy. You would have never made it out on your own. Not like Nick and I had to. Not without your _mommy_ to hold your hand."

Henry jumped up so fast he knocked his chair back, "Shut up!"

He could see Hansel heading towards them, he could also see the lunch monitor three tables away and walking closer.

"You may be adopted, but you sure have _her _temper." Ava turned to leave, "You won't find your answer in that stupid book anyway. Wake up and join the twenty first century, Henry. I mean, honestly, the school has, like, every Disney movie ever made." She smirked, "Well except for _Snow White_, of course."

He looked over at the lunch monitor, "But we can't check out the movies, only teachers can."

Ava plucked his pudding cup off of his tray, "You're a double-prince, why do you have to ask permission?"

A double prince? Oh yeah, he was the grandson of Snow White and he had been adopted by The Evil Queen. He was sort of a double prince. Cool.

That idea distracted him enough so that he didn't even mind that Ava had stolen his desert. He could sneak into the AV Room during recess. Mrs. Potts wasn't nearly as good as watching them on the playground as Miss Blanc-his grandma had been. That was okay, though, he was still pretty good at forging Mary Margaret Blanchard's signature to check out the DVD when he found it. He even back-dated the check-out to before the curse broke so no one would be the wiser. Stupid, huh. Yeah right.

* * *

Emma eyed the newspaper warily, like it was some kind of beast sitting on her desk. She wanted to read it, but felt like it was a trap. David had been really pissed about yesterday's article and she couldn't handle another Prince Charming melt down tonight. The man had said words that Emma hadn't even known existed, but she was pretty sure she should have covered Henry's ears.

She had heard Snow and David arguing about it late into the night. She hadn't even been able to escape the argument by plugging into YouTube because Henry had hijacked her laptop to watch some cartoon. Damn Kid had totally ganked her stuff and she had really needed to watch some dudes get whacked in the balls repeatedly. The charming argument had ended eventually with what she assumed were charming kisses and hugs, because her parents were apparently practically perfect in every way. They set the bar really freaking high: true Love, a fairy tale romance that stretched through time, comas and dreams, they had the whole package. Most of the time she had just wanted to make sure her dates weren't high, on the run from the cops, or ax murderers.

Not that the paper had portrayed David and Snow as the picture-perfect couple. Oh no, The Daily Mirror had turned it into an arc from one of the Soaps her foster-mothers had all seemed to enjoy. There had been betrayal and treason, underhanded deals, pre-marital sex, sword fights, bloodlust, and a surprising amount of trickery. Plus, apparently David was a twin, which made her very glad that there was only one of Henry. She had to hand it to the writer, he certainly had a flair for the dramatic. Daniel S. Glyss definitely had an inside track on what was what in Storybrooke. Of course, he had been Regina's pet weasel for twenty-eight years, so that was not surprising. Why did crooks always think scrambling the letters of their names around made for such good cover-names? She'd figured out that trick years and years ago. Was Sidney working for Regina again, or was it something else?

She bit the bullet and picked up the paper. The front page was dedicated to Princess Aurora's arrival in Storybrooke and how happy her parents were to have her home. There was a small mention of Mulan, and Prince Phillip, and even a line or two about her and Snow. Nothing scandalous or noteworthy. Mr. Glyss, and wow had he dropped the ball on that last name or what, seemed pretty copacetic today.

She propped her boots up on the corner of her desk and leafed through the paper, just to make sure another scathing article hadn't been tucked away in between recipes and hardware store ads. There was nothing, well there was a mention of her bar brawl in the crime blotter, but that was it.

Sidney had covered the Sheriff's Office for years, or so Regina had told her. Why wasn't there something more scandalous, or a snippy word about her performance? If Regina was trying to undermine them she'd missed a perfect opportunity. Except, Regina had said that she hadn't had anything to do with the article. Which was hard to believe, this was exactly Regina's sort of thing. So why did she believe her? Everything in her gut told her the brunette was innocent. It was hard to scheme against people when you were busy recovering from whatever it was that had Esmeralda so worried, finding out your sadistic mother was in town, and making up time with your long lost nanny.

Ugh, Emma sighed, Esmeralda. She'd heard all about the other woman's outburst at the Diner. On the one hand she was pissed. That was her Kid and her father, technically, that the woman had been talking to. On the other hand, she sort of admired the balls it took to stand up and say what she had said. She'd been alone in a room full of people that didn't like a damn word that had been coming out of her mouth and she'd said it anyway. That was her kind of woman. That must have been where Regina had gotten her stubborn streak. It was, Emma mused, amazing to watch the two together. There was less Evil Queen and more of something else in Regina lately. It was like there were two completely different people living at 108 Mifflin Street. The Mayor and Evil Queen, whose mother was Cora, and then there was Regina, Henry's mother, who had been raised by Esmeralda.

Wow, that was really complicated. Emma closed the paper and tossed it on the desk. Everything was complicated these days. She longed for the simpler days, when Pongo had been her biggest problem. When Operation Cobra had been a passing fantasy that The Kid would grow out of. When she had been able to ogle the mayor without worrying about fireballs flying at her.

"Hey Mom!"

Henry barreled in with Snow and David close behind. Her peace and quiet was immediately shattered, but that was okay. She didn't actually mind that much, anything to get her mind off of the whole Regina situation.

"How was school today, Kid?"

Henry shrugged, "It was okay, but tomorrow will be way better."

Okay, she'd bite. "What's so special about tomorrow?"

Snow chuckled, "The big Science Fair, Emma. Henry's project has won first place in his grade for the last three years running."

His project?

She forced herself to grin, "So what's your project on, Kid?" Cause he had done it at school and it was all ready to go, right?

"I dunno, we haven't done it yet. I thought we could put it together tonight."

We, as in her and him?

Okay, correction, she would much rather think about Regina. She didn't do science, or math or any subject other than lunch, recess, study hall and detention. She'd been a pro at detention. A real Nelson from the _Breakfast Club_, only with blonde hair and girl parts.

"Oh, Kid, this sounds like a job for your grandmother. Like, as in her actual job."

She sent her best, her very freaking best, puppy dog eyes at Snow.

"Emma I can't help Henry with his project, I'm a teacher it would be unethical and unfair to the other students."

Okay, time to whip out the big guns. She fixed a pout on her face that had made grown men (Neal) melt into puddles of goo. "C'mon Snow, you got your teaching degree from Curse University, just bend the rules a little bit. For me and Henry."

"I got my degree" Snow, or Mary Margaret, narrowed her eyes, "from Saint Joseph's College of Maine, thank you very much."

Emma had blown that one big time. How was she supposed to have known that M.M. had crazy love for her imaginary college years? Well, the fifty-five thousand mugs, glasses and the ratty old tee-shirts should have been a clue. Strike one.

"David." She could totally be a Daddy's Girl if he helped her out.

Snow leveled a glare at her husband, though. He shrugged and smiled good naturedly before raising his fist in the air, "Go Monks." Strike two.

"It'll be fun, Mom. We are supposed to do our project out of the Biology unit of our book!"

So that probably left out foam ball and hangar solar systems. Shit. She had failed Bio in high school twice. Strike three, she was out. Double shit.

She looked to her parents again, in full panic mode now. She couldn't let the Kid down, but she was drowning here.

"I-uh, it's been a long time since I did a Science Fair project." Like the other side of never. "And we don't have a whole lot of time. Can't you just resubmit last year's project?"

Twin stares, one from her son and one from Snow, told her that her idea was not going to fly. She looked to David, but he had found a very interesting spot on the far wall to inspect thoroughly.

"Right."

Snow seemed to take this as an agreement and grinned, "Well, we'll let you two get to it! I can't wait to see what you're going to come up with."

She led David, the traitorous dog, out and that left her and Henry in the office.

"We're screwed, aren't we, Mom?"

No one could say that her kid wasn't smart.

"Totally."

She could not believe she was about to say this, but they only had one option at this point.

"We're going to have to bite the bullet on this one, Kid."

Henry plopped down in the chair in front of her desk, the one that wasn't filled with paperwork she was supposed to do sheriffy things with. "That sounds dangerous."

There was that sarcasm again.

"Kid you know there is only one person in town that can save our collective as-butts now."

Henry scowled, "You can't mean-"

Oh she did. She was just desperate enough to go to Plan R. R for Regina. "Kid, we're going to march our as-butts over there and beg like dogs for your mom to help us whip you up a last minute project."

"This sucks."

Emma agreed, the last thing she wanted to do was show up at Regina's and confess that she was a for-shit parent who couldn't help her son with a simple science project. If it helped Henry, though, she'd do it.

"C'mon, Captain Procrastination, let's go see your other mom."

* * *

Mayor Regina Mills had a standing order at Game of Thorns that was automatically charged to her Visa every week. If Maurice thought she hadn't noticed that she had started paying double for her dozen white roses after the curse broke, then he was a bigger idiot then she had always thought. Still, it didn't matter how much the roses cost, she would pay it. She always brought her Daddy white roses. They had been his favorite. She put the flowers on his tomb reverently, the same way she had every week for the past twenty-eight years. She came to see Daddy every week, more if there was something on her mind.

"Hello, Daddy."

She had started talking to him within two months of being in Storybrooke. He had been the _only_ person she'd had to talk to. For years he had been the only person in her life that she could trust. He had been the only person who had given a damn about her, and she'd killed him. She missed him so much, if there was one thing she could undo, just one, then she would go back and save her father from herself.

"I've brought someone to see you. Not Henry, he's still living with Emma Swan and the Charmings." She sighed at that statement, "He's still mad at me, Daddy. He called me evil in front of everyone, again." She was evil, but to hear it from Henry hurt her. It hurt like a knife in her already ragged heart every single time he said it.

"She wasn't dead, Daddy. She came back to me. She's here, in Storybrooke. Esmeralda came back."

Esmeralda had not brought flowers. She stepped up and laid her hands on the cold stone tomb. "Hello, Henry." A number of emotions played across Esmeralda's face and Regina felt her heart fall at the sight. She wasn't the only one who mourned her Daddy. Tears pricked behind her eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself. She always hurt those she cared about the most.

"I miss you, My Love."

It hit her like a slap to the face. She had known, since she was a tiny girl, that Daddy and Nan loved each other. Hearing it, though, was something completely different. Hearing Esmeralda call Daddy something so soft, gentle and heartfelt broke Regina's heart all over again.

AN2: How picky do I get about details? I spent 30 minutes googling colleges and universities in Maine to find Mary Margaret's perfect alma-mater and I don't even like her.


	17. Chapter XVI: Monsters and Daughters

Author's Note: This was a very intense chapter for me. I wrote half of it, then had to take a step back and let it settle before returning to write the rest. I'm not sure how/if you guys will like it, but it's probably one of the most important parts of this story. This story is very large and full of several different characters with their own journeys, but at the end of the day this story is really about one thing. It's about the battle for Regina Mill's soul.

Please read, enjoy and please review (good, bad, outraged or in-between: criticism is always welcome.)

Chapter XVI

Monsters and Daughters

_Oz was a beautiful land, full of vibrant colors and cheerful people. Too bad it was all based on an elaborate lie, perpetuated by a con-man. She had sought out the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz in hopes that he would have the knowledge that she needed. Surely this renowned leader and magician would know of The Swan. He was no more great or powerful than any other man, though. He was a fraud and she had come to yet another dead-end. The Wizard, as the people of Oz called him, was clever but not magical. He was, in his own words, a humbug. Whatever that was._

_He had risen to power by accident and had held onto it by trickery even his home, the grandiose Emerald City, was an elaborate ruse. The green tinted glasses that people wore to protect their eyes were cheap parlor tricks that turned white to green. She had rremoved hers and refused to put them back on. Her eyes, the same color as the city claimed to be ,gave her natural protection, she had told them. A lie, of course, but a small, almost inconsequential one in a city full of falsehoods. _

_She stood on a high balcony, eyes locked on the gleaming spires and towers of the city stretched out before her. Emerald or not, it was a true marvel to behold. _

"_It is beautiful."_

_The so-called Wizard stepped out onto the balcony with her. _

"_Sometimes, I forgot how beautiful it really is. When you live here, the glitter and glow fades into the background."_

_She turned from the cityscape and faced the aging wizard, "Your scheme, this fantasy of the Wizard cannot last forever. All deceptions are eventually discovered, this is known."_

_He nodded "And you've used your Gypsy magic to look into the future and seen my end?" _

_She looked over the city again, "There will be a revolution, Humbug, a great upheaval and your reign will come to an abrupt end."_

_He stepped closer and laid his hands on the balcony's ornamental banister, "The Witches?" _

_She inclined her head, "A child. A girl with a brave and true heart will be Oz's savior and your downfall."_

"_Ozma?"_

_The name of the land's seeming immortal, and suspiciously absent, queen. _

"_No."_

_She knew better than to reveal any more information to the Humbug._

"_You think I'll try to stop her." He sighed and rubbed his hands across his balding head. "I'm tired. Tired of being a ruler and a recluse. Tired of being a wizard. I welcome this child."_

_She did not doubt that weary but imagined that his enthusiasm would last. Power was an intoxicant that few could resist and fewer still could leave behind. "Indeed."_

_With that, he left her. He went back to his hidden chambers to tinker with the illusions and mechanical contraptions that had transformed him from man to wizard. She looked back to the city and lost herself in the grandeur spread before her. She had only beheld a sight like this once before and that had been a very long time ago._

_The pain that cut through her chest was not the familiar ache of bitter memories. It was sharp, sudden and it stole her breath away. She fell to her knees in agony but could not scream because her chest was too tight to produce a sound. She slid from her knees to sit on the cold marble floor of the balcony, glad that she was alone. _

"_Henry."_

_The pain, the soul wrenching, heart shuddering pain told her what she needed to know. The time had finally come._

"_You will give your very life…" Her own words, spoken to the man she loved with all her heart, came back to mock her. He was gone. Henry, her sweet and beautiful prince, was gone. He no longer traveled in the realm of the living, his journey had come to an end. _

_She clutched her hand to her chest and could feel her own heart racing, and she imagined that the organ was crumbling to pieces in her chest. She had to know, she had to see. She scrambled for her book. She threw open it's ancient leather bindings and did not care that tears blotted its pages._

_The Romani know all that was, is and will be, or so people said. The truth of the matter was that her people valued the stories of a person's life. Every story, every life. Every journey had meaning and an effect on others. The Book of Romani recorded the stories of people's lives and worlds. Any place a member of a Romani clan visited, any person the spoke with, their stories were added to the endless collection housed in the Book of Romani. To be the keeper of the book of Romani was the highest honor given to any one person. She had not deserved the honor, but it had been bestowed on her anyway._

_She had used the honor to aid her on her quest. It was at best, an abuse of power and at worse, it was the darkest sacrilege and sin that she could commit. She would do it again and again if it would help her Nightingale. _

"_Show me Regina." Her voice shook as she watched the words and accompanying illustrations swan into focus on the page. It only took a moment for fresh horror to bloom in Esmeralda's chest. _

_Her Nightingale wore a dress that was as dark as her heart had become. She held the limp body of her father in her arms. A scream tore out of her tight throat as she read the truth. Regina's desperate need for revenge and happiness had become a sickness. A festering madness driven by bitter loss and constant sadness. She had finally broken, her Little One had fallen under the weight of her own grief. _

_The illustration was enough to make Esmeralda's heart break anew. Regina reached into her own father's chest and took his heart as her sacrifice for the malevolent curse that the Dark one had given her._

_She was so lost and the darkness was eating her alive. A single tear was on her cheek. She loved her daddy so dearly, but even love had been eclipsed by her darkness. She felt, the book said, that she had no other choice. Her Nightingale killed her own father because she was utterly convinced that this Dark Curse was her only chance at happiness._

"_Oh, My Love, I hope your death was not in vain."_

_She had known, always, that theirs was a doomed love but that did not lessen her pain. She wept a river of bitter, heartbroken tares. She wept for Henry, she wept for herself, she wept for the beautiful girl that they had raised and loved as if she had been born of their love and not of Henry's duty to his wife. She wept for the sweet baby that she had sang to sleep every night for almost ten years. She wept for the woman that she had grown into. The sad queen that she not been able to save. _

"_I'm sorry, My Love, I am so sorry. I failed you. I failed our daughter. I failed."_

_Her sobs overtook her and she drowned in her own tears. Esmeralda lost herself in her sorrow, regret and loss high above a glamorous city built on and of lies._

Twenty-eight years and the pain was still as fresh in her heart as it had ever been. Henry had been her True Love. He was the only man she had ever given her body to and the only man to love her despite her many flaws. Henry had given her a child to love and a quest to complete. He had given her hope, and laughter and a true home in his arms. Even when they had been apart, his letters had been her guiding light in a world full of cruelty and disappointment. Their infrequent rendezvous had been like lush oasis in the vast desert of her travels. To be together had never been their destiny, but they had fought fate to the bitter end. She had been born to love Henry and he had been born to love her, he had died loving her and she would die still hopelessly in love with him. This was known.

She stepped forward and laid her hands on the cold stone of his tomb. It was real now. Henry's death was tangible and touchable and cold beneath her fingers. He had never been cold, her lover had always been warm and full of light and love for her.

"Hello Henry."

She had never stopped talking to him. Words were wind that travelled through all realms, even the realm of the dead. Though he was not with her in body, he had never left her or Regina in spirit. She had hoped against hope that one day they would be tighter again, the three of them a happy family. He had spoken so many times of running away in the night, riding fast and hard on his two best steeds with Regina wrapped up in a blanket and snuggled against her, asleep during their escape. That had been impossible, though, and they had both known it. Her control started to break.

"I miss you, My Love."

She couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears flooded her eyes and she bent down and laid a soft kiss on the cold stone tomb.

"May your journey be ever bright" The traditional words of mourning. "And may you wait for me at the crossroads." The traditional words of a widow.

"I'm sorry."

Esmeralda turned to see look at her Little One and saw devastation in the woman's eyes. She had wrapped her arms around herself and was trembling. Tears were falling down her face.

"I'm so sorry. I did this, Nan. I took him for you."

She straightened up because the dead did not need her comfort, and her Nightingale did.

"Shh it's okay."

She reached out to pull her close but was shoved away with enough force to make her stumble backwards.

"Don't touch me!"

Regina held her arms out, and looked at her with wide, wild eyes. "How can you touch me? How can you bare the sight of me? I killed him, Esmeralda. I killed Daddy. I took his heart and killed him. You _loved_ him and I murdered him. I destroyed my own father. The only person who gave a damn if I lived or died and I reached into his chest and took his heart out. Just like her. Just like _Daniel_."

Her words were fast and furious and Esmeralda knew that this was the first time she had ever spoken them. Her Little Nightingale had held this dark poison in her heart for years and it had been as corrosive as the fairy magic that had almost taken her life.

"I know. I have always known. Your father knew. We knew that his life would be the price that must be paid for your chance at happiness. Henry accepted that. He, we, loved you from the moment you were born. I, too, would have died for you."

Regina stumbled backwards, her face lost it color and her mouth fell open.

"You _knew_?" Horror spread across her pale face.

"I was your Soothsayer, My Nightingale, and I knew from that moment. The moment your father placed you in my arms I loved you and I loved him and knew that my destiny was with you."

"You knew what I would become? You knew that I would become The Evil Queen and you_ loved_ me? She shook her head back and forth in violent denial. "You should have smothered me in my sleep. I am a _monster_."

* * *

Regina Mills had seen tears, she had seen sorrow, and she had seen suffering. She had been the cause of all of these things and more. She had ordered an entire village slaughtered because they would not speak against Snow White. She had banished children to wander in the woods, she had taken countless hearts and crushed them in her hands. She was the Evil Queen. She had been a girl once, innocent and naive. She had loved, truly and deeply, like Esmeralda loved Daddy. She had loved Daniel with a full and pure heart and her mother and Snow had killed him. The loss had devastated her, redefined her life, broken her heart and darkened her soul forever.

She saw the same loss, the same sadness, the same love play across Esmeralda's face. Regina felt a bitter cold settle over her heart. It crept into her bones and replaced marrow with ice. The darkness, mostly dormant for twenty-eight years, surged forward and throbbed in her temples. She had killed Esmeralda's True Love. She had ripped his heart out and held it in her hands. She had thrown it into a fire to give rise to The Dark Curse. She had killed her beloved father for a fool's notion of love and happiness. Whether it had been for happiness or power, her father and Daniel had both died the same way. Their hearts had been ripped out by cruel, evil women. She was no better than Cora. She had become the thing that she had hated more than anything. When she had been a child she had wanted to grow up to be like her Nan. Only things had twisted around and she had ended up becoming a carbon copy of Cora.

When Esmeralda bent down and kissed her father's tomb and spoke the Old words she felt something deep inside of her break. The cast-iron chest in her soul where she had shoved her sadness, grief and overwhelming guilt rusted, crumbled and the feelings that she had denied for over three decades rushed through her. She was suddenly lost in a riptide of darkness and she was simply too tired, too numb and too weighted down by her own evil to even attempt to swim.

"I'm sorry." Spirits, she was so very sorry. "I did this, Nan." The other woman would never answer to that name again. She was about to lose the last person in the world who cared if she lived or died. "I took him from you." The same way Snow and Cora had taken Daniel from her.

Esmeralda straightened up and Regina prepared herself. She knew that the woman's green eyes would be sharp and angry and her words would be cruel and angry. She deserved no better.

"Shh." The other woman reached out for her, offering comfort. "It's okay."

Regina shoved the other woman away, she didn't understand. She could not comprehend. Why wasn't Nan mad at her? She had done terrible, horrible, unforgivable things.

"Don't touch me!" Because she was darkness and she hurt everyone she cared about. She was like a cancer, she corrupted everything she touched. She held her arms out to keep the other woman away.

"How can you touch me?" How could she want to comfort her True Love's killer?

"How can you bare the sight of me?" She'd had to shove her mother through a mirror after she'd killed Daniel. What did Esmeralda want to do to her?

"I killed him, Esmeralda. I killed Daddy. I took his heart and killed him." She could still feel his heart in her grasp. She could feel his warm embrace turn into cold, dead weight in her arms. She still had nightmares about killing him. She woke up in the dead of the night screaming for her father to forgive her, but forgiveness would never ever come.

"You _loved_ him" Her voice broke on that and remembered screaming something very similar at her mother as the dust of Daniel's heart floated out of her clenched her fist. "and I murdered him." Damn her soul forever, she had done it. If none of other crimes and deeds had happened she would still be forever damned for that.

"I destroyed my own father." Tears were flowing now, an endless sea of ink-black sorrow that lived in her heart had finally over flowed.

"The only person who gave a damn if I lived or died and I reached into his chest and took his heart out. Just like her. Just like _Daniel_." She had hunted Snow for years, damning her existence, wishing her nothing but sorrow and pain but she was no better than the little princess who had betrayed her so many years before.

Esmeralda's words each hit her with the excruciating pain of a bullwhip. They scored her flesh and ripped into her soul. Pain boiled in her blood and bubbled under her skin. Her entire world started to crumble and slide into the sea of blood that she had spilled.

She couldn't do this anymore.

The thought hit her like yet another wave. She had lost Daniel, Daddy and now Henry. She was going to lose Esmeralda somehow soon, and she would be alone again. She had spent so many years alone and she just could not survive it again. She would go truly insane this time, if she wasn't there already. Insanity or death, the choices were finite and bitter and she had known.

Esmeralda had known that she would become this way. She had looked into her future and had seen The Evil Queen in the eyes of an infant. That statement rocked her to her very core. She had never even had a chance. Her destiny had never been to be a young stable boy's wife or a happy mother, she had always been destined to be the villain. She had been born to be The Evil Queen.

"You should have smothered me in my sleep."

Then Daniel would have lived. Then Daddy would have lived. There would have been happy endings and happy people and no Evil Queen. There would have been no damaged little girl ripping out hearts to make people stay and love her. She could hear the tell-tale beating of the hearts she had stolen beating quietly in the vault beneath their feet. So very like her mother's vault of hearts. Was her mother proud of that fact? Did Cora think it was fitting for the daughter of the Queen of Hearts to be so adept at her mother's monstrous art?

"I am a _monster_."

The truth was a bitter poison on her lips. She felt cold marble on her back and realized that she had backed herself into a corner. Her heart hammered in her chest and her head roared. She bit her lip and wished she could make it stop. Everything hurt too much, she couldn't stand the pain anymore. She just couldn't. Even Evil Queens had their limits and she had gone far past hers.

She wasn't sure when her eyes had slid closed, but they snapped back open when two hands fell on her shoulders. Esmeralda's green eyes bore into her dark ones and she flinched away from the stare.

"No."

One of the hands left her shoulders and grabbed her chin to hold her face still.

"You are the daughter of Henry. You are the mother of Little Henry. You are not a monster."

Regina could feel more tears over flow her eyes. "You don't know. You were gone. You didn't see."

Esmeralda shook her hard enough for her head to hit the marble behind her.

"I _saw_." Esmeralda would not break eye-contact with her. "The Book of Romani holds your story just as it does every other story of the realms. You darkened your heart. You committed atrocities. You pillaged, burnt, killed, and were a blood drenched warrior queen and sorceress that even the ogre hordes feared. Tales of The Evil Queen spread wide and far. I heard of your deeds as far away as the deserts of Agrabah and the ever frozen wastes of the Far North." The Romani woman's eyes were hot green, like a flame when it touched copper. You gave into darkness, My Nightingale, but that does not mean that you are forever damned to it."

She had known? Esmeralda had known what she did, but she had returned anyway? Why? She didn't understand. Was Esmeralda here for revenge?

"Perhaps I should be. I killed Daddy, and for what? This curse was supposed to be my happy ending, but it was a nightmare. A never ending purgatory until Henry, and now I've lost him too. Now this Hell is full of people who want me dead and my son hates me. This is what Daddy died for, another slow and painful torture for me to endure."

Esmeralda's grip on her arms was tight enough to bruise. "Do not say that." Her voice was angry now, her accent made heavier by her passion. "Your father sacrificed his life for this town. Storybrooke is Henry's legacy, his love for you, his last gift to you. Do you not think he would love it here? The forest, the sea, the simplicity. Do you not feel his heart beat in the wind that blows through the leaves of your tree? Your used his heart to create this place and his spirit is strong here. Henry only wanted your happiness. This could be your happiness."

Regina blinked, shocked. She had never thought about it that way. All these years and she had never considered that Storybrooke was her father's legacy. He would have, she realized, loved the little town. He would have eaten at Granny's daily and courted a heart-attack from his addiction to greasy hamburgers. He would have spoiled his grandson and taught him to ride the same way he had taught her. He would have puttered around the stables, filling his days with small chores and laughter.

He could have had a life with Esmeralda here, simple and sweet.

More tears streamed down her face.

"I miss him so much. I killed him, but I miss him every day."

Warm, scared, arms pulled her into a hug. "I know, Little One. He loved you no matter what, and his love for you continues on even now just as your love for him does. That is why you're not a monster, Regina. Monsters can not love. Monsters do not feel guilt or remorse. Monsters do not adopt little boys and name them for their fathers. You stayed in Storybrooke for twenty-eight years and it is still here. Your most bitter enemy is still alive. A monster would have killed her in the dead of some night and been done with it. A monster would not have put herself in mortal danger to bring home two women that she doesn't even like."

Regina chuckled darkly, "God. Snow." She lifted a hand to wipe her tears away. "I want to kill her. I almost did so many times. What kind of person looks at a little girl and wants to strangle them to death, Nan? How can you forgive _me_ when I can't feel anything but contempt for _her_?"

Esmeralda smirked, "I did not know her as a child, but as an adult she is quite-"She quirked a dark brow, "aggravating. Between her and her husband, one can understand why you went to war with them. Self-righteous fools."

Regina felt herself smiling because the image of her beloved nursemaid wrinkling her nose at the mention of the Charmings was just too over-the-top.

"But you must try to forgive her. This grudge, this blood feud, it will only continue to darken you. Your thirst for revenge only hurts you. It is a blight on your soul. If you truly want to return to the balanced path, you must try."

How? She had been trying so hard, but every time she made progress she felt like she fell all the further. If she forgave Snow that would mean that she had been truly wrong. That she was the one to blame for everything. She would be admitting to everything, every drop of blood, every crime. She would have no reason anymore, no explanation. Just the evil blood lust that had consumed her. She did not know if she could shoulder that weight. There were so many wrongs in her past and without Snow as a scapegoat, she would have to look in the mirror and know that she was guilty of each and every one of them. Henry would never take her back.

"I've been trying to redeem myself for Henry."

Esmeralda let out a sigh and touched her chin and lifted her face again, gently this time. "You cannot do this for Little Henry or for me. You must do this for you and only you. You must want to right your wrongs and make the change to yourself. You misused your magical gifts. You used them to harm, now you must retrain yourself to heal. Heal others and yourself."

She made it sound so easy.

"I swore off magic, for Henry."

Green eyes flashed, "Little Henry is your son, not your leader. He is a child and knows little about your past and your struggles. He cannot understand how hard restoring the balance of light and dark will be. You cannot let him dictate your every action. You need to redeem yourself and that is a journey of soul searching and using your Spirits-given-gifts to help your people. It is your obligation as one of the magically gifted. This is known."

"But-"If she used magic he would hate her again.

"Everything cannot be about Little Henry, Regina. You have a life too, one that you must repair before you can truly be a mother to him."

More tears flowed down her cheeks. "He doesn't want me to be his mother."

Esmeralda smiled at this, "He has your spirit, Little One. You forget how rebellious you were. Some days I think your father and I spent more time arguing with you than anything else. You have always had a temper, and by birth or not, Little Henry has inherited it. He is angry and confused, but you are his mother. He will return to you. The question is: will you be ready when he does?"

She had never wanted to lose him, but she understood what Esmeralda meant. She had not been a very good mother to Henry.

"It was so easy when he was young. I just remembered what you and Daddy did with me. I read books and he was such a good little boy. When he got a little older, though, I didn't know what to do. He's so strong-minded and angry and smart. I caught myself using the same spells on him as mother used on me. I caught him with tree limbs and held him in the air. That's when I knew. I knew I was becoming her and not you. He left me that day and has not been back since."

Her heart ached for her little boy. It felt like a piece of her died every morning she woke up and went to see that his room was still empty. There were no shoes on the stairs or sticky glasses left in the sink. There was no echo of his superhero movies from the den or comics left on the back of the toilet in his bathroom. There was no life in her mansion without her son.

Esmeralda stepped away from her and the warmth of her cloak-clad form left her. "Come, My Little One, it is time to go home. Your father's spirit is not here. He walks beside us, shrouded in the mists of the realm of the dead, watching and loving us the same way he always has. This is known."

The idea of her Daddy's spirit still being with her, watching and loving, was an oddly comforting thought. She had forgotten, or ignored, so many of Esmeralda's teachings over the years. Daddy had believed in the OId Ways, despite her grandfather and mother's displeasure and protests.

"Okay."

She squared her shoulders and wiped away her tears. Her heart still ached and her soul still burned with pain, but there was something else now, something new and different fluttering in her chest. She hadn't felt it in such a long time, that she was afraid to give it a name.

It felt like hope.

"Good. We will go and I will give you your first lesson underneath your tree. The same way I did when you were a child." Esmeralda grinned at her, earlier seriousness seemingly forgotten, "And you will tell me why the tree your father and I gave you is _missing a limb_."

Pain, sadness, horror, desperation, love, for a moment it fell away and Regina chuckled. "That is part of a very long story, Nan."

Esmeralda linked her sleeve and scar covered arm through hers, "I am Romani, Little One, we love nothing more than a good story."

*End Part I*

Part II will have: A last minute science project, a school dance, more flashbacks, more Maleficent (she insists on being in this story), magic, newspaper articles, an engagement, danger, more Cora (and Cora'd scenes) destiny-defying feats, someone(s) will sign a deal with Mr. Gold, and some surprises. Also never fear, SwanQueen is coming.


	18. Chapter XVII: Science

Author's Note: Longer than expected wait for this chapter, but I'm here and will be back on a more-or-less regular update schedule soon. Lots of love for everyone who reads this story, and especially those of you who review and PM. You guys are amazing!

Part II

The Rise

Chapter XVII

She Blinded Me With Science

If there was one thing Emma hated, it was asking for help. It never got you anywhere. It made you weak, easy to prey on, and it left you owing favors. Mr. Gold hadn't been the first person she'd owed a favor. Favors could come back and bite you in the ass, a kid in the system learned that lesson pretty quickly.

Some families hadn't been bad. Hell, some had been pretty nice to her. Others, though, hadn't been. She had stayed in some houses where a simple request for help with a science project would have earned her a boot to the ribcage. She liked to think that the good placements had outnumbered the bad, but the memories of the bad were stronger and closer to the surface of her brain.

It was like she told Ashley, which was kind of ironic when she thought about it, not everyone got a Fairy God Mother to bibbity-bobbity-boo them up a happy ending. Not in the real world, at least. In the real world you had to be smart, tough and fast on your feet if you wanted to make something out of yourself. She was eternally glad that Henry hadn't grown up like she had. He had been taken out of that world, the world of foster homes, social workers, and broken promises, and brought up in a picture perfect mansion. He had been raised like a little prince, silver spoon firmly in his mouth. Of course Regina had raised him like a prince, she was a queen. Or had been, it was a little fuzzy to her. What wasn't fuzzy was that Henry hadn't thought twice about asking for help. He took the fact that everyone would fall all over themselves for granted. When Snow and David had refused he had actually looked a little upset.

Nobody had ever, she suspected, told him "no" before.

Yup, her Kid had landed in the lap of luxury. Though he had inherited Regina's book smarts, he had absolutely no common sense. Only an idiot would leave a mansion in search of a jail-bird mother who had given him up. Well, there had been extenuating circumstances, like the curse and fairy tales being real, but still.

She pulled into the mansion's driveway and parked behind Regina's Benz. She cut the engine and Henry quickly unbuckled himself, rolled down the window and opened his door from the outside. Emma sighed at that. She had been meaning to fix that door, but hadn't quite got around to it yet. She let herself out and rolled her eyes at the groan the driver's door let out when she opened it. She bet Regina's car didn't have creaky doors. Oh no, the Benz was sleek, dark, perfection. Just like its owner. The Bug was bright but a little on the battered side. It had lots of hard miles on it, but it was a dependable, scrappy little car. If she was going to stick with the car metaphors, she had to admit that the yellow bug was pretty much dead-on Emma Swan. She watched Henry dart through the yard and yank open the 108's door without knocking. The big white mansion was still his home and he would never think to knock. She followed him at a much slower pace. She turned to look over her shoulder at the cars again. They were an odd pair, mismatched, but they looked sort of cute together in the driveway.

Henry came back out the door, backpack still on his shoulders, "She's not answering me, I don't think she's home."

The little hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Regina wouldn't leave the door unlocked if she wasn't home, and her car was in the driveway. Something was up. There were plenty of people who had it out for the ex-Evil Queen and Esmeralda wasn't exactly Miss Popularity either. In a town where people loved forming mobs a little too much it was suicide to leave the front door unlocked.

"Henry go inside and lock the door. I'm going to go around back and see what's going on." She eased around the side of the house and suddenly wished she had brought her gun. It didn't do diddily squat against ogres, but the citizens of Storybrooke reacted to it pretty well.

Emma moved around the side of the house, about a million nightmare scenarios running through her head. When she peeked around the corner and into the backyard, she was surprised, relieved and intrigued by what she saw. Regina and Esmeralda were both kneeling in the grass beneath the infamous apple tree.

"Now reach through the calm and find your magic."

Esmeralda's words were steady and placid, comforting even. Only Emma didn't feel comforted. Regina had sworn off magic, she had promised Henry. Furthermore magic made Regina go a little crazy and the last thing Storybrooke needed was for Regina to go around the bend and become the Evil Queen all over again.

"I can't do this." Regina was frustrated and her voice was clipped and heated. Emma had dealt with that tone of voice more than once. "Magic is different here. It is harder to conjure and it acts unpredictably."

Esmeralda scoffed and said something in what Emma was at least sixty percent sure was Spanish. She was going to start Google Translating everything the woman said so she could understand when she was being cursed at. Regina, apparently, understood what the other woman said and raised her brows. Emma remained partially hidden and completely unnoticed by the two women. She knew she should make herself known, but she wanted to see what happened next. She also wasn't used to seeing Regina being so open and free with her words. It was an entirely different side to her.

"Magic is the same in all realms, Little One. Magic is emotion given form." Esmeralda reached out and touched Regina's cheek. "Magic is not different here, you are." Regina started to protest, but was quickly cut off. "The emotions you used to power your magic before: fear, anger and hate have been eclipsed in your heart by something far more powerful."

Okay, seriously, when did a Gypsy from Imagination and Pixie Dust Central get time to watch _Star Wars_? Because she sounded like she was talking about Regina going over to the Dark Side of the Force. Emma paused for a moment, a little shocked at herself. That was actually kind of accurate. Holy shit, the 3am Waffle House conversations with Neal and the babbling parade of drunks had finally paid off.

"Little Henry has changed you. He brought life and love back to your heart. This is why you struggle with you magic. You reach for the darkness when you should embrace the light. Your love is far more powerful than your hate. The love of a child is truly life altering." Esmeralda tucked a strand of hair behind Regina's ear. "This is known."

Now that was something Emma could relate to. Henry had brought life and love to her heart after years of being alone.

"To heal you must embrace love. Focus on the feelings you have for your son and let them flow through you."

Emma watched, completely engrossed in what was playing out before her. Though she knew that magic was technically a no-no for Regina, she felt like cheering the other woman on. Maybe it would be okay if the woman stuck to the good side of the Force or magic, whatever.

"Now let your love, and the magic it brings, flow into your tree. Think about how Little Henry's love healed you and let that healing spread."

Though Emma wasn't quite close enough to tell, she imagined that Regina's eyes were closed and when she lifted her hand, it was by instinct alone that she found the trunk of the tree. At first nothing happened and Emma was a little disappointed, then Regina's fingers started to glow. It was a warm violet pulse that jumped from her fingertips to the tree trunk. The glow appeared in the pale scared wood where a limb used to be. The limb that she had sawed off. Granny had never asked why she had borrowed that chainsaw. Small, slender saplings sprouted and started to grow. Three vine-like branches grew out, green life crackling with purple magic. Emma couldn't believe her eyes. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen and she had seen some pretty crazy things since arriving in Storybrooke. The three branches braided together, stronger together than they were apart. It grew until it was about three feet long. New, healthy mottled brown bark started to appear in small, but growing patches. It was like a snake shedding its skin, only in reverse. It covered the raw wood and crawled up and down the branch. When the branch was coated with bark it forked into two at the end and two small vibrant green leaves unfurled. Amazing.

Regina's hand fell away from the tree trunk and she took in a deep and shaky breath, like she had just run a triathlon. She rose, leaning against the tree like she needed the support. Regina ran her fingers along the new branch, a huge smile on her face. Emma lost her breath for a moment, she had never seen Regina smile like that. She was pretty sure that this was the first time that Regina had used magic for something good. She would also bet big money that this was the first time that magic had made Regina genuinely happy.

"Enjoying the show, Miss Swan?"

Emma jumped almost a foot in the air. Esmeralda had, somehow, walked all the way across the yard and stood beside her without Emma noticing. Some Sheriff she was. The older woman was as quiet as a cat, and just as sneaky. Someone needed to put a bell around her damn neck.

Regina, hands still on the branch, turned to look at her. The smile faded and Regina's face reverted to the usual Madam Mayor scowl. "Miss Swan. What are you doing here? Where's Henry, is he okay?"

It always came back to Henry, didn't it?

"He's fine." Emma sank her hands into her jacket pockets. "He's inside, actually."

Regina's eyes widened, "Did he see" Her hands clenched around the baby branch, "_this_?"

Emma shook her head. "Nah. He's probably up in his room enjoying his things and having his own space. It turns out that shoving three grown adults and a boy into a tiny apartment comes with a few personal space issues."

Regina smiled again, it was smaller but no less beautiful. "He wanted to come home?"

Oh she knew this was going to suck, but this was totally going to make her feel like shit.

"Um actually we needed your help with something."

She watched Regina's smile fade all over again. "Oh. Of course."

Yep, Emma wanted to disappear into a convenient portal.

"Here's the thing. Henry has this assignment due tomorrow and frankly it's a little outside of my skill set."

Regina walked towards her, any post-magic-weakness long gone. She looked confused, "The only assignment that Henry should have due tomorrow is his Science Fair project."

Emma rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah, that."

Regina shook her head, "How much does he have left to do?"

Yes, she was Queen Shit of Turd Mountain. "All of it."

Regina's dark brows rose, "But what about his Project Work Day?"

His who-to-the-what-now? Oh. She had been played. She had been played hard and fast by her own kid. "The half day off from school. I am such an _idiot_."

She expected mocking and maybe a lecture. Possibly fireballs. None of these things happened. Regina only heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. "He didn't tell you, did he?"

Emma shrugged, "Not until about an hour ago."

Regina walked towards the door that lead to her kitchen and motioned for Emma to follow her. "Well come in, Miss Swan, we certainly have our work cut out for us."

Esmeralda let out a little laugh, like there was some kind of joke that only she got. Emma couldn't figure the woman out and was kind of bugging her, but she didn't have time right now. She followed Regina into her mansion, she had a science project to do with her kid and his other Mom.

"Henry!"

Regina's voice echoed through the house and Emma followed her through the kitchen and into the enormous entry way complete with spiraling stairs.

Henry head popped over the banister, shaggy hair and an all too familiar crooked grin beaming down at them, "Yeah?"

"Can you bring your books down here so we can get started?"

He disappeared again without a word and Emma saw a small smile ghost across Regina's face.

"Sorry about this. I know its last minute and all."

"It's no bother."

No, Emma realized, it probably wasn't. Even if it was because he needed her to pull his butt out of the fire, Regina was genuinely happy to have Henry home again. She heard Henry's feet pound down the stairs again and opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Regina was watching the mirror intently and when Emma cocked her head, she realized that the other woman was watching Henry come down the stairs in the mirror. Emma watched too and her eyebrows winged up when the Kid jumped the last three stairs. He landed with a slap of sneakers and skin on marble. He was in a low crouch, one hand down and the other held out in front of him, two fingers curled into his palm.

"Spiderman."

Regina named his "superheroic" pose with a small sigh. Apparently this was something they did often, Henry leaping and Regina watching.

"He do that often?"

She was close enough to lay her hands on Regina's shoulders, but knew better than to try. Being in each other's personal space was something that had happened over and over between the two of them since the first night they'd met, but they rarely touched, and when they did it wasn't very gentle.

"Every time he thought he could get away with it since he was four years old."

There it was again, that soft and gentle tone in Regina's voice. Just like outside of the Diner. That voice was the one that made Emma squirm. It made her _want _to reach out and lay her hands on the other woman's shoulders.

Henry turned the corner and she stepped back automatically. "Got my stuff." He looked between the two of them, "You guys ready to get started?"

Regina moved fluidly, without missing a step, like they hadn't just had yet another almost-moment. "Of course, Dear. Go into the dining room and I'll be right there."

Regina doesn't have any instructions for her, which is unusual, but disappears into her office for something of other. She had kind of hoped Regina would tell her something, give her direction, or at least a snappy command about not touching or breaking anything. Unsure of what the hell to do with herself, Emma followed Henry to the dining room. Why did they have to use the big, fancy dining room anyway? Wouldn't be just as easy to whip up a poster or whatever in the kitchen?

Henry didn't seem to mind, he grabbed a chair and plopped his book down on the table. He opened it to whatever chapter he was supposed to be doing and Emma peeked over his shoulder and barely suppressed a shudder. Cells and organs and sciency stuff, it was not her cup of tea.

"So what do you have in mind?"

Something simple, something simple, and something she could bluff her way through without looking like a giant idiot, which she wasn't, or a high school dropout, which she was.

"We can do anything from the Biology unit." Henry pushed his hair out of his eyes, "That's plenty to choose from, but we don't have that much time."

"Which is why you should not have procrastinated."

Regina reappeared in the room and Emma's jaw dropped open. There was a pair of elegant black reading glasses perched on Regina's nose. Combined with her usual wardrobe of 'Fuck Off' suits and 'Fuck Me' heels the effect was devastating. Sexiest. Librarian. Ever. When she wore glasses she looked like a super-nerd, but when Regina wore them she looked like some sort of sexy senator. Life just wasn't fair. Emma stole a glance at Regina and felt her nipples harden beneath her bra. It really really wasn't fair.

"Do you know what procrastination means?"

Henry shook his head, completely unaware that his birth mother was about five seconds away from having a stroke.

"It means you shouldn't have lied to Miss Swan about your project work day."

"I didn't lie." Henry's answer was quick and just a tad belligerent.

"Lying by omission is still lying, Henry."

Henry opened his mouth to argue more, but Regina held up a slender finger, "We can talk about that later. Now what is your project going to be?"

Emma pulled her eyes away from Regina's glasses wearing face and looked back down at the science book. She could do this. She was an adult and she could do this. Regina leaned over Henry's shoulder, "I think we can do better than cells, don't you?"

Henry didn't answer, he just flipped forward, "I thought we could do the nervous system. We could use a bunch of copper wire and the battery from my old go-cart and some light bulbs and wrap it around one of your costume dummies and make-oh can we use Christmas lights and make them blink.

All Regina-in-glasses-feelings were quickly destroyed by Henry's overwhelming exuberance about his project. That old pick-up-and-run-fast feeling rushed through her. Tingles in her toes and shooting pains in her calves and her heart thudded into her ribs. Run Emma, run hard and run fast.

"That is a very bright idea, Dear, but we are a little pressed for time."

Regina's voice was as cool as the other side of the pillow.

"Wait wait wait, a go cart?"

Henry grinned, "Christmas when I was seven. Mom had Sheriff Graham cut me a track through the woods and everything. When I got too big for it I tried to get a dirt bike but Mom said no."

Regina chuckled and Emma blinked at the sound. "I said absolutely no way on earth, actually."

The tingles in her toes intensified and crawled up to her ankles. This was family stuff, with the Kid and his Mom talking about Christmases past and projects. The pains in her calves shot all the way up into her thighs. She didn't do _family _things.

She looked down at the book again and bit her lip. She couldn't run. She couldn't run. Oh God, she couldn't run this time. She turned the page away from the nervous system and the copper wire monstrosity Henry wanted to build. The next page was the circulatory system. Emma almost choked at the very life-like heart that was connected to a whole network of veins and arteries. Hearts made her think of Cora, and of course, Regina's own past.

She heard Regina's breath hitch.

"I think we can eighty-six this page too, Kid." She leaned forward and turned the page again.

"This." Regina pushed her glasses back to the bridge of her nose, "could work."

Emma wrinkled her own nose, "The digestive system?"

Henry looked between them. "Really?"

Emma had no idea how they were going to pull that off, she looked at Regina and wanted to echo Henry.

"It's simple, streamlined, and it won't require a battery. I think the three of us can handle it."

The three of them. Together. Like some sort of family unit who did things. She was tingling to her knees and the shooting pains had entered her hips.

Run Emma, Run.

"Can we still use your costume dummy?"

What the hell was a costume dummy and why would they need that?

"First things first, Henry. Write down every part we will need to represent and what the function is. I need to go talk to Esmeralda and tell her that our plans have changed."

Emma blinked, happy to talk about anything other than the digestive system. "Plans?"

Regina stood and took off the glasses as she did. They dangled from her fingers, which was even sexier than being on her face, "Yes. She asked me to show her a few things in the kitchen. For some reason-"Regina shook her head, "She thinks the stove will blow up the entire house if she looks at it the wrong way."

Emma followed her into the kitchen, "So what was on the menu?"

Please say lasagna, please say lasagna, please say lasagna.

"The ingredients and spices for one of my stews. Henry's favorite." Esmeralda, still wearing the big purple cloak, sat at the counter drinking another cup of tea.

"Nan, Henry's project." Regina's arms wrapped around her and Emma wondered exactly what was going on between the two of them. "It is important."

Because magic and cooking lessons weren't. Esmeralda, if that was her real name, had been in town a few days and she and Regina were getting along fine and dandy. It must be nice.

"Perhaps I can throw something together." Regina turned to her refrigerator, "Though I'm not sure-"

"You're cooking?"

Henry stood in the doorway, paper in his hand, "But we always have pizza when we do school projects." There was something in his voice: something young and hurt. While Emma squirmed at it, Regina looked like she had been hit with a tank. He was, Emma was suddenly reminded, just a little boy. Henry might think he was as capable and clever as an adult, but he was still just a kid. A kid who didn't do his homework on time and wanted pizza because that was what he had always had.

"Oh Henry." Regina sank to one knee so she was eye-to-eye with him. "I don't think Mandy and Zach will deliver here anymore."

"You mean Rapunzel and Flynn Rider."

Seriously? High Tower Pizza was run by the actual Rapunzel? Emma sank her face into her hands. She was so over the fairy tale bullshit.

"I believe his given name is Eugene, but yes."

Henry's frown was huge and Regina looked like she was about to cry. Like the whole night, and possibly every shred of what was left of their mother-son relationship was about to go up in smoke over a freaking pizza. Emma sank her hands in her pockets and wished the tingles and pains in her legs would go away.

"Flynn Rider is in this town of yours?"

Esmeralda interrupted and both mother and son turned to look at her.

"_You_ know Flynn Rider?"

Henry sounded skeptical, and frankly Emma was right there with him. The mysterious Gypsy Woman certainly seemed to know plenty of people in Storybrooke for someone who had arrived out of the blue a few days ago, riding on Cora's coat-tails.

"Only two people have been foolish enough to try to steal from me. Neither tried it again. Flynn and I have a certain understanding. I will go fetch this-"She paused as if puzzled, "_pizza_ for you."

Henry and Regina both smiled and for a minute Emma was lost in that moment. They smiled, she realized, exactly the same. She could see Neal's eyes and Snow's chin and occasionally her clumsiness, but Henry's smile was all Regina. If she had ever seen Regina smile, really smile, she would have noticed it before.

Emma felt out of place and awkward. "And hey, since I'm the one who crashed your dinner plans, I'll pay." She had High Tower's number programmed into her cellphone, practically on speed dial.

"A large triple cheese for you, Kid, and-"She looked at Regina and wondered what the other woman would eat on a pizza. Hell she had never imagined The Evil Queen eating a slice of pizza.

"Mom likes the Supreme with extra peppers."

No way. Emma had expected some fancy-ass grilled chicken and spinach atrocity. Not real pizza.

"Really?"

She met Regina's eye and the other woman only shrugged.

"All right. So a large cheese and a large works with extra peppers." She brought the number up and within two rings the overly-chirpy voice of the brunette named Mandy (or Rapunzel apparently) answered and took her order.

* * *

Pizza and school projects were her time with Henry, and Emma had barged in yet again. Only, Regina couldn't find her usual anger. She was emotionally tapped out, first from her outburst at Daddy's tomb and then from using her magic. She was simply too weary to be angry at the moment. Besides, it was hard to be angry at Emma when she was so obviously out of her element. The blonde was so nervous that she had developed a twitch in her legs. She wanted to ask why the Two Idiots hadn't jumped at the chance to help, but decided that she simply couldn't care enough about it. Henry was, for the moment, home and that was all that mattered.

"So this costume dummy is going to be like a body and we're going to like, hot-glue, the digestive system to it? Also I'm still not sure what a costume dummy is."

She led the blonde upstairs to the hobby room. Which was really just a spare bedroom that had been given over for storage and extra workspace. She had spent several years dabbling in this and that to keep herself occupied. After Henry had been born she had needed the space to create then store his Halloween and pageant costumes. He had been an adorable Christmas Elf and an even cuter bunch of grapes. Halloween had run more towards superheroes and anyone who said spandex was an easy material to work with were liars.

"Holy shi-crap." Miss Swan gawked at the rack of costumes. "You made all of these?"

She shrugged again, uncomfortable with the sudden scrutiny.

Henry, however, didn't mind it at all. "Yeah. We always dress up for Halloween."

"We?"

Emma turned to look at her and Regina felt a blush rise in her cheeks.

"Yeah, she's been Super Girl, Black Cat and this year she was supposed to be Black Widow."

Emma looked from the rack of costumes, then her, then back again. "Please _please_ tell me there are pictures of Madam Mayor dressed up."

Henry pawed through the costumes, obviously looking for something. Regina went to her dressmaker's form, or as Henry liked to call it, her costume dummy, and sighed. Neither of them answered Emma's semi-serious question.

She was going to have to cut the front panel out completely so they could fill it with the viscera and organs needed for Henry's project.

"Hey we can use the tights from your Scarlett Witch costume as guts!"

It was not a bad idea, but he needed to build on it. "Which guts would those be, Dear?"

Henry thought for a moment, his brow wrinkled in concentration. It amazed her how much he looked like his birth mother in moments like this. Their mannerisms were strikingly similar, it seemed that some things were genetic.

"The small intestine?"

Regina nodded, "And what shall we use for the large?"

"Old vacuum hose."

This came from Emm-Miss Swan.

"Awesome idea, Mom!"

Another small wound scored into her scarred heart. He called the other woman  
Mom.

"Yes." She straightened up to her full height, a maddening two inches less than the blonde sheriff. "Well, first we must get this downstairs."

She stared at the form. It was ungainly and not intended to travel far. It was also quite heavy. She hadn't moved it from the room since Graham had lugged it up the stairs for her so many years before. The form she used for Henry's costumes would be much easier to move, but it simply wasn't big enough for their purposes.

Henry raced ahead of them, tights in hand, mumbling about a mask and teeth.

Regina rested her hands on the form, suddenly tired. She wasn't sure where she'd find the energy to finish this ridiculously large project.

"It's heavier than it looks, isn't it?"

Regina turned to find the Savior close to her, too close. This close two inches seemed like two miles, or perhaps after everything she'd struggled through today, she just felt particularly small. Emma reached around her and rested a hand on the form, almost trapping her between two bodies, one inert and the other very much alive.

"Yes."

Her heart was in her throat and she wasn't sure why. A sudden dose of adrenaline flirted through her, every time Emma was this close, the other woman usually grabbed her while they fought. She wasn't afraid, Evil Queens didn't allow themselves the luxury of fear. It was something else. Something that felt a little bit like passion and a lot like lust.

"I can take care of that for you." She leaned in and Regina was momentarily stunned by the intensity of Emma's now indigo blue eyes.

"What?" Regina tried to clear her head, but found it difficult to focus.

"We need to get your dummy thing downstairs to fix it up, right?"

She tugged the form around her, "This thing weighs a ton. It's a good thing that I was a professional mover for like four months once."

Regina shook her head, somehow not surprised by Emma's announcement. "Were you any good?"

Emma winked, "The best you've ever had."

Her voice had dropped a little and the words set off warning bells in her head. "I somehow doubt that, Miss Swan."

The blonde smirked, "You have no idea what I'm" She threw both bare arms up and flexed, "capable of."

Her arms, pale but for a few freckles and one scar on her left bicep, were well formed and lined with lean muscle. She was fit and tone, like a young knight during his first summer of tournament glory.

"I think" she was surprised her voice was so steady, "that I'm starting to understand that."

Emma grinned, "Now you're getting it. I'm gonna lug this thing downstairs and we can finish this crazy project with our kid, eat pizza and maybe drink some apple cider while I try to con Esmeralda into sharing embarrassing stories about your childhood."

That sounded very domestic and strangely appealing. "You go ahead, I think I have something that will do for a stomach in my closet."

She left the room, and left Miss Swan to move the form as best she could. Regina had to escape and compose herself. Her emotions were too close to the surface and too raw. She was overwrought, that had to be it. She let herself into her bedroom and leaned against the door that she neatly closed behind her. She was Regina Mills, Mayor and Evil Queen, she didn't let silly little Saviors see her fight with her emotions. She was not weak and she was not a foolish little girl who swooned at a few flirtatious words.

She stalked over to her walk-in closet. This was not about her, or Miss Swan. It was about Henry and his project. If the two of them couldn't play nice long enough to complete that than there was little hope for Storybrooke in the long run.

The bag she was looking for was stored in its proper place in her custom-curse-crafted shelves. A bright red Prada shoulder bag that was approximately the correct size and shape for a stomach. She would have to do some sewing, but it shouldn't be too hard. If she could craft a Cyclops visor out of a baseball cap and a few other odds and ends, she could handle a faux stomach.

The clatter and boom was loud and sudden and Regina dropped the purse. Those sounds were quickly followed by something far worse. Regina's stomach dropped to her knees and then instantaneously shot back into her throat. Every mother knew exactly what a body falling down a flight of stairs sounded like. The sickening cracks and thuds of fragile flesh meeting marble steps.

"Henry!"

She flew out of her room at top speed, fear pushing her heeled feet to move faster. When she reached the top of the stairs she was horrified to see Henry standing over two bodies: her dressmaker's form and the equally still blonde sheriff.

"Emma!"


End file.
